A man was mauled to death by a tiger near Mailani range forests under Dudhwa buffer zone, officials said.

“One Ram Milan (27), a resident of Grant No. 3 village under the Mailani police limits, was attacked and killed by a tiger on Friday,” said Lalit Verma, Field Director, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR).

Villagers said the tiger was reportedly hiding in a sugarcane field and pounced on the man when he was near. After being chased by villagers with sticks, the tiger fled the spot and disappeared into the dense foliage, leaving the dead body on the ground, they said.

Sub divisional officer (SDO) Satib Khan, range officer Amit Kumar and other forest staff rushed to the spot to make an initial inquiry and to console the aggrieved family members. The body was later sent for a postmortem examination.

Expressing concern over the human killing in the tiger's attack, the field director said the bereaved family would be provided monetary compensation as per rules as the incident took place outside the protected forest area.

Verma added that movements of tigers and other big cats had been reported in the area, following which forest staff have been deputed to patrol there.

He said villagers have been advised to be alert while visiting their fields and avoid moving alone.

Located along the Indo-Nepal border in the Terai belt, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve is home to big cats, including tigers and leopards. The big cats often stray into buffer zones leading to man-animal conflict.

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