Tiger Reserves

The victim, Mangaldas Chaudhary, is said to have been attacked barely 20 meters from where he was staying in the Tadoba Tiger Reserve.
A tiger dragged away an employee of Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM) and killed the 45-year-old man around 6 am in Tadoba Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur District today.
The victim, Mangaldas Chaudhary, was with two other colleagues when they stepped out of the forest camp to answer natures call. Chaudhary himself is a resident of Navegaon village of Chimur taluka in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra.
There are more than 100 employees of the FDCM come to live in the forest area of Tadoba during summer, between February 15 and June 15, to look out for forest fires and control them. With the arrival of monsoon, these employees move out of the jungle.
People associated with Tadoba tiger reserve have expressed surprise at this tiger attack. Most say that such incidents of tiger attack are unheard of in the area. According to people working in the jungle, the incident took place near a temple located near the Tadoba lake. The area belongs to a tiger named Matkasur and since it is mating time for the big cats, Matkasur is said to have been with another tigress Maya when they were disturbed by the employees stepping out for their daily abulations. It was during this time that Chaudhary is said to have been attacked barely 20 meters from where he was staying.
GP Garad, field director, Tadoba Tiger Reserve said, "Chaudhary was with two other people when the tiger attacked and killed him. The others ran and reported the incident." He added that at the moment the tiger has not been identified as there are about 5 to 6 tigers which roam in that particular area of Tadoba. "We have set up camera traps to see if we spot any tiger so that we know which tiger has been roaming in the vicinity," said Garad.
Wildlife Institute of India scientist Bilal Habib said that it is an accident but authorities will now have to work in a backward direction to find out why it has happened. "It has happened due to the lacunae on the human part. They should have seen the area properly, made noise when they moved out. Having gone to the jungle often people tend to take things for granted. But in jungle you never know when the animal is under a bush or under cover."
The award winning scientist added that "there has to be extra caution that has to be taken now especially by the tourists. Even though the two tigers are friendly but they are wild animals. We don't know what is going on in their mind. They have tasted human blood and so at least for one month everyone needs to be very careful when they are around."