GUWAHATI: A three-year-old Royal Bengal Tigress was battered and almost blinded by hundreds of villagers when it stepped out of Kamakhya reserve forest in Assam’s Nagaon Wednesday, leading vets to express fears that the helpless animal may have to spend the rest of its life in captivity in a zoo.
The attack underscored growing man-animal conflict in forested areas and its fringes. Ranger Bibhuti Mazumder said this particular tigress had not attacked any villagers or domestic animals. “Since the July floods, stray movement of tigers have increased towards therevenue villages,” he said.
The tigress was called a gentle giant by some villagers when seen a few days ago. The animal stayed put in the area, possibly sparking fears among villagers. So vicious was the attack with stones and sticks that the big cat jumped into a river to save itslife before being rescued by foresters almost 17 hours later. The animal was taken Thursday to the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) in Kaziranga for treatment.
CWRC in-charge Dr Bhaskar Choudhury said both its eyes were damaged. “It looks like the left eye has been completely damaged. Besides, it has sustained head and internal injuries,” Choudhury said. He ruled out possibilities of rehabilitating the tigress back into the wild if the eye injuries do not improve.
The forest department filed a complaint against villagers based on videos of the attack. “… Attempts to identify the offenders are underway,” said a range officer.