Sunderbans tiger kills fisherman
Monotosh Chakraborty, TNN 23 August 2009, 04:05am IST
KULTOLI (South 24-Parganas): A 40-year-old fisherman was killed by a tiger at Storekhali, under Gosaba block in the Sunderbans, on Friday. In a separate incident, a tiger entered Annpur, also in Gosaba, leaving villagers panic-stricken. In yet another case of animal intrusion, a crocodile strayed into the Bagmari canal at Achintanagar in Patharpratima block and ate up a goat, said Subrat Mukherjee, Sunderbans Tiger Reserve field director.
Nabin Mondal, a fishermen from Gopalgunj in Kultoli, had gone to Storekhali with two others on his boat. While the trio was busy fishing in the late afternoon, a tiger pounced on Mondal and dragged him into the forest. His companions tried to save him but could not. They then raised an alarm and lit a torch, after which forest officials retrieved Mondal’s body.
Police said the fisherman had sustained neck and chest injuries, which proved fatal. Meanwhile, there was panic at Annpur after a tiger strayed into the same spot where it had come only five days ago. A forest department team is camping there with searchlights, traps and two goats as bait. Officials suspect that because of its age, the tiger might have lost its ability to catch prey.
Sources said some people saw the tiger moving around the village and forest officials immediately rushed to the spot. “We did not take any risk and installed a cage where the tiger was last sighted. The situation is under control now,” said Mukherjee.
In the third incident, officials had a tough time driving away a crocodile that had eaten up a goat after straying into the Bagmari canal.
After villagers informed forest officials about the matter, the latter used ropes to take the crocodile beyond the inhabited area.
