Bettiah: An elderly tiger that allegedly attacked a 65-year-old man grazing goats near the Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) in West Champaran on Thursday was later found dead in the Hathi Malkhanta forest area along the Indo-Nepal border, forest officials said.Forest officials said the tiger appeared to be old, weak and suffering from multiple injuries. A search operation launched after the attack led to the recovery of its carcass about 500 metres from the attack site.The injured, Aklu Yadav of Bisaha village, was grazing goats near the Hathimalkhanta canal when the tiger allegedly emerged from the forest and attacked him. Villagers rescued him after raising an alarm. He was initially taken to the Valmikinagar Community Health Centre and later referred to GMCH, Bettiah, for surgery.Doctors said Yadav sustained multiple deep lacerations on his right leg with significant soft-tissue loss, besides injuries to both hands.Valmiki Tiger Reserve field director Gaurav Ojha said preliminary findings suggest the tiger may have been involved in a fight with another tiger. Injury marks were found on its abdomen, paws and hindquarters, while maggots were detected in the wounds during the post-mortem.“Owing to illness and weakness, the tiger had entered an area where tigers are not usually spotted. In search of easy prey, it attacked an elderly man grazing goats and then returned to the forest, where its carcass was later found,” Ojha said.The tiger’s viscera will be sent to the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, for forensic examination to ascertain the exact cause of death. Forest officials said the report would determine whether the animal died due to illness and injuries or if other factors were involved.
The tiger’s viscera will be sent to the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, for forensic examination
