Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district, which is home to the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), has become the latest hotspot for human-wildlife conflict. Five people have been killed in separate incidents involving a tiger and a leopard in September alone. According to the Chandrapur Forest Department, there are currently 347 tigers in the Chandrapur forest. The number has increased dramatically; the total was 191 in 2020.
Tigress, tigress burning bright
Chandrapur forest circle officials confirmed that four people were killed by a tiger and one by a leopard in September, bringing the total for deaths caused by tigers to 30 in nine months (January 1 to September 19). The five incidents include the attacks on Pandurang Chachane in Sawali village, Annapurana Bilone in Mul village, Sunil Balkrishnarao from Brahmapuri, Vidya Masram from Chimur village, and a seven-year-old child from Gadbori village.
The latest death occurred on September 18, when a 40-year-old woman identified as Vidya Masram was killed by a tiger in Chimur village in Brahmapuri Division. “She was attacked while she was working at her farm. We have identified the tiger and alerted the villagers of neighbouring villages and forest officers and deployed Primary Response Teams (PRT),” said the official from the Brahmapuri Division.
