LUCKNOW: Pilibhit tiger killed sixth human on Monday evening. But forest officials are not yet willing to brand it a man-eater. The reason being that tiger did not ambush and kill humans. Victims had all gone to the forest, were attacked, killed and eaten by it.
The bundles of firewood, grass and bags containing `katarua' mushroom (which grows extensively in monsoon and sells for Rs 70 to 80 per kg) were recovered from spots of killings. Most probably, victims were attacked while they were squatting on ground and the tiger mistook them to be quadrupeds.
"However, now it may not happen because if it is one tiger killing all, it would not be scared of human beings anymore," said G C Mishra, former director, Dudhwa. Man-killing and man-eating are different stages.
There are several circumstances under which human beings attacked accidentally by tigers and leopards, might die, but these cases are to be considered only accidental killings. The National Tiger Conservation Authority's (NTCA) guidelines for declaration of big cats as man eaters are clear on this.
"Such circumstances include approach by man in an area where tigress is sheltering her cubs, approaching accidentally a sleeping tiger/tigress, especially by grass cutters and wood collectors, a bent posture of humans when a tiger takes him to be an animal and attacks. In such cases, tiger may not eat dead person for the first time but it may start eating the dead body if it comes across such accidents more than once."
Besides, if tigress is with cubs and is confined to a limited area where there is shortage of natural prey, it is more prone to eat the body. The eating of dead body does not prove it is a man-eater. Similarly, the fact that tiger has killed more than one human being also does not prove it is a man-eater. The circumstances under which animal killed the human being should be examined in detail.
In case of Deoria tiger, it could be a "potential man-eater". More because humans are an easy prey. In most of the situations, it is old age, illness or deformity that makes tiger a man-eater. Whether Deoria tiger too has any of these problems is yet to be ascertained.
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