Tiger kills 65-year-old woman in Odisha wildlife sanctuary, half-eaten body found

NUAPADA: A 65-year-old woman was killed in a suspected attack by a Royal Bengal Tiger in Nuapada's Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary late on Sunday evening.

The body of the woman identified as Sanmati Barik was recovered by forest officials on Monday morning. She lived in Jalmadei village under Sesong Gram Panchayat within the Sunabeda wildlife sanctuary.

On Sunday evening, Sanmati had gone to fetch firewood from the adjoining forest behind her home when the tiger hiding behind the bushes jumped and attacked her.

While fellow villagers tried to save Sanmati hearing her screams, the tiger dragged her into the forest and then disappeared into the woods.

Though forest officials were informed, they advised the locals to wait till Monday morning when they visited the village.

During a search, the half-eaten carcass of Sanmati was recovered and taken for autopsy. Preliminary reports said the left part of Sanmati’s body was missing. Subsequently, an investigation was launched.

Deputy Range Officer Shiba Prasad Khamari said the pug marks and the injuries on the body of the deceased suggest that it was a Royal Bengal Tiger.

"However, we are yet to ascertain if it is true. We are also trying to understand where it had come from," he said.

The body has been sent for autopsy to Nuapada district headquarters hospital. The forest department also deployed staff at the village to sensitise the villagers not to move out of their houses in the evening.

A source in the forest department said that though no tigers have been spotted in the area in the last five years, in a census conducted in 2020, at least eight tigers have been reported to be living in the Sunabeda Widllife Sanctuary which also is a proposed tiger reserve.