Tiger shot dead after it kills two people in north-eastern India

Nov 23, 2010, 13:42 GMT

New Delhi - An endangered tiger was shot dead by Indian forest rangers in the eastern state of Assam Tuesday after it killed two people and critically injured two more, news reports said.

Forest officials said the tiger had attacked and killed several cattle in the area, about 60 kilometres east of Assam's main city of Guwahati, over the past week, the IANS news agency reported.

'This morning from nowhere, the beast descended on the village and first mauled to death a woman and then another man working in the field,' Dharani Das, a resident of Habiborongabari village, was quoted as saying Tuesday.

Das said the tiger then attacked others, including a policeman and child, who were now being treated in hospital for critical injuries.

At least 500 people armed with sticks and crude implements tried to chase the tiger away.

'A group of armed wildlife guards riding on an elephant along with veterinary doctors and members of a wildlife conservation group arrived at the spot and tried to tranquilize the tiger,' villager Bipul Bora said.

They were not successful and fearing more casualties shot the animal.

'We tried our best to tranquilize the tiger, but then the situation was such that the predator was getting out of control, and fearing more casualties, we were left with no option other than gunning down the beast,' a forest guard was quoted as saying.

The tiger strayed out of the adjoining forest area most likely in search of food, officials said.

India is home to about half the world's population of wild tigers. There were 1,411 of the endangered animals in its national parks at the latest count, down from an estimated 3,700 in 2002 in spite of a conservation programme.

Demand for tiger skin and body parts, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine, have led to increased poaching of the animal over the past two decades, according to the wildlife-trade-monitoring group TRAFFIC.

A global summit to find ways to protect the endangered species is currently being held in St Petersburg.

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