Unity in adversity: Herd of bovines saves a cow from marauding tiger
BHOPAL: The popular phrase, ‘United we stand, divided we fall’ has come true in the Bull Mother Farm on the outskirts of Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal. Not only did a herd of cows succeed in saving a cow of their group from falling prey to a tiger, but the group of bovines forced the big cat to finally return without hunting any cattle from the herd.
The CCTV grab of the incident which happened on June 18-19 intervening night, has gone viral all over the social media. The over-two-minute long CCTV grabs show the tiger stealthily entering the farm situated on Bhopal’s outskirts and attacking a cow resting alone.
While the cow under attack struggles to come out of the tiger’s clutches, seeing the tiger attack the cow, the other cows of the herd return promptly and not only close in on the tiger, but also unitedly attack the carnivore to drive it away.
As per informed sources, a united herbivore herd forcing a carnivore predator away is rare. The tiger then waited on the prowl for about three hours, but could not attack again as the pack stood guard around the injured cow.
The injured cow is under treatment and its condition is reportedly critical. The 76-acre farm has as many as 50 CCTV cameras. Importantly, the hillocks on the outskirts of Bhopal, near the Kerwa and Kaliyasot dams, have been regularly reporting the movement of tigers. Tiger movement has been reported in areas close to the Mother Bull Farm for the last two months.
Recently, a tiger had reportedly intruded into the Farm through an 8 ft high wall and hunted a dog.
Following the recent development, the local officials of the forest department have sounded an alert in the entire area, cautioning the people in the nearby areas not to venture out alone, particularly during nocturnal hours. Importantly, around ten days back, tourists at the Bandhavgarh National Park in MP’s Umaria district were stunned to witness a dog, which strayed into the Park, confronting a tiger.
The video, shot by a student Gaurangi Dubey, showed a tiger chasing a dog in the national park. But moments later, the dog was seen barking and charging at the big cat and the tiger appeared to retreat as the dog continued to follow it.
Cow injured, condition critical’
The injured cow is under treatment and its condition is reportedly critical. The 76-acre farm has as many as 50 CCTV cameras. Interestingly, the hillocks on the outskirts of Bhopal, near the Kerwa and Kaliyasot dams, have been regularly reporting the movement of tigers.