MYSURU: A tiger killed and allegedly devoured the body of a 55-year-old shepherd in the Kundhakere wildlife range coming under Bandipur Tiger Reserve. His partially eaten body was found in the forest on Tuesday.
In just over a month, two people have died, while one person has been critically injured in tiger attacks in Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Foresters said Basavaiah aka Basava, a tribal from Hadina Kanive village -- abutting the tiger reserve, went to the forest to collect green fodder for his sheep and goats on Monday morning.
As he did not return for quite some time, his family and villagers searched for him late into the night. But they could not trace him. They resumed the search on Tuesday morning and found his partly-eaten body near Veereshwara Gudda area which is adjacent to the forest.
The villagers informed Range Forest Office Naveen Kumar. Immediately, BTR Director P Ramesh Kumar, ACFs Ravindra and Naveen and Police Inspector Parashivamurthy visited the spot. Dr Praveen Balaji from the Primary Health Centre at Mangala conducted the postmortem and collected the samples to be sent to the lab for investigation.
The body was later handed over to Basava’s family members. Hundreds of tribals and villagers, including tribal leaders, visited the village and demanded that the forest department give compensation to the family.
‘No relief for shepherd’s kin’
But a forest officer told The New Indian Express that as the shepherd had ventured into the forest, his family would not get compensation as per forest rules. The compensation is given when a wild animal attack happens outside the forest area in the human habitat.
On November 24, a 50-year-old woman, Rathnamma, was killed by a tiger near Balluru Hundi in Nanjangud taluk coming under Hediyala wildlife range in Bandipur Tiger Reserve. On November 6, Balaji Nayaka (42), a resident of Kadabeguru village and former member of B Matakere Gram Panchayat, was killed by a tiger in Sarguru taluk in Moleyur wildlife range coming under Bandipur Tiger Reserve. On October 31, a 55-year-old farmer, Veerabadra Bhovi, was severely injured after he was attacked by a tiger in Hullahalli hobli in Nanjangud taluk.