Tiger Kills 70-Year-Old In Khambada As Hunt Continues, Has History Of 8 Killings In Last 2 Years

The big cat, popularly known as the tiger of Rajura, or 'RT-1', had attacked a villager when he went into a forest to collect firewood in Khambada village, which is around 660 km from Mumbai.

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New Delhi: A tiger, who had killed almost eight people in the last two years, have become most wanted as the authorities have launched a search operation in Khambada, which is around 660 km from Mumbai. In a chilling incident, an elderly villager became the latest victim after he was mauled to death on Monday after the former had went into a forest for firewood in Khambada. As pet the report in news agency AFP the officials are trying to capture the tiger using tranquillizer darts but met with no success. As a result of paucity of land, human encroachment on tiger habitats has increased in recent decades in the country with a population of 1.3 billion which ultimately causes deadly conflicts.

According to reports in the Times of India, the big cat is popularly known as the tiger of Rajura, or 'RT-1' and known for attacking people. The report also states that pug marks have been found suggesting that elderly has been attacked by the same tiger. The swabs have been for forensic testing. It raised alarm when the 70-year-old didn't return home after leaving to collect wood. The family members and other villages started looking for him, but found his remains, a huge portion of which had been eaten by the tiger, as per the report.

If you go by the latest numbers then almost 225 people were killed in tiger attacks between 2014 and 2019. However, the big cats have also been killed with more than 200 tigers dying as a result of poaching or electrocution between 2012 and 2018. In June, a tiger responsible for killing three people have been captured and sent to a zoo in Madhya Pradesh. It is because the big cat was found to be "too dangerous" to be allowed to roam free.

India has almost 70 percent of the world's tigers, and around 50 tiger reserves are spread across the country.  The tiger population had risen to 2,967 in 2018 from a record low of 1,411 in 2006. It is because of the conservation efforts and measures to tackle poachers.

In fact, the state of Maharashtra, where the latest attack has taken place, had a tiger population of 312.

In 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the time of announcing the growth in tiger populations mentioned India has now emerged as 'one of the biggest and most secure habitats of the tiger'.