Tigress mauls forest dept team in PTR, injures 3

PILIBHIT: In a shocking incident, a tigress mauled a team of three forest watchers while they were on routine daytime patrolling in Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR). Two of them were injured. The incident occurred in compartment number 126 of Mala forest range of PTR on Monday afternoon, forest department officials said.
According to the range officer of Mala, DP Shrivastava, three watchers — Uma Shankar, Hemraj and Kamlesh — were on a routine patrol duty in the forest when they saw some village women collecting fallen tree branches in the Mala range.They told them to leave as it is both illegal and dangerous to enter the forest without permission.
After the women left, the team moved to another area. Suddenly, a tigress which was apparently lurking in the shrubs, came out and attacked the team. One of the injured watchers said all the team members were carrying long sticks and he struck the big cat with his staff.
The tigress retreated into the shrubs but again attacked the team. The trio somehow managed to hit the big cat with their sticks and it finally retreated. However, two of the men were injured. Uma Shankar sustained injuries in his hand, chest and waist as the tigress had clawed him. Another watcher, Kamlesh, also sustained scratches on his body.
Range officer Shrivastav said the tigress was believed to an adolescent. He said the forest personnel had been admitted to government hospital. They were discharged after primary medical treatment they were discharged.
Regional coordinator of WWF Mudit Gupta said Uma Shankar was provided with a financial assistance of Rs 5,000 while Kamlesh was given Rs 1,000 rupees for meeting their medical expenses.