Police shoot dead tiger nicknamed ‘man-eater of Champaran’ that killed at least nine people in India

Shrinking forests and lack of safe green space for tigers away from human settlements has been a big threat for these big cats

File image: India is home to 70 per cent of the world’s tiger population (AP)

A tiger said to be behind a series of killings in the rural part of northern India, earning him the title of “maneater of Champaran”, has been shot-dead by the state police.

The big cat, who lived in Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) in Bihar’s West Champaran district, was blamed for back-to-back human killings in last few weeks, totalling nine within a month, which led to an uproar in nearby villages.

The hunt for the tiger — a three-year old male Bengal officially known as T-104 — was carried out by around 200 police officers and district officials and included officers patrolling the area on elephants to find the beast.

The search further intensified after the recent deaths of Sanjay Mahto, 36, and 12-year-old Bagadi Kumari of Sigadi village on Friday.

The tiger, however, killed two more people in the morning on Saturday, hours before it was shot dead.

Chief Wildlife Warden P K Gupta told reporters that a rescue team from Hyderabad and another from Patna were searching for the tiger and had announced shoot-at-sight orders.

“We have now ordered to shoot the tiger. A team of shooters is on the job. Help of drone camera is also being sought to track the animal.”

The police had reportedly taken clearance from the state’s chief wildlife warden PK Gupta to get the tiger shot dead.

However, the move also raised an alarm over the treatment of tigers and the lack of ability of the authorities to deal with human-animal conflicts. Some unconfirmed videos on social media also showed the body of the tiger being mutilated by locals.

India is home to 70 per cent of the world’s tiger population, which has grown extnesively in the last few decades due to conservation measures. There are frequent reports of big cats landing in human settlements in India, with frequent leopard spottings in the financial capital of Mumbai.

However, shrinking forests and lack of safe green space for tigers away from human settlements has been a threat for these big cats.

The VTR facility where this cat was located is the only tiger reserve in Bihar and had 32 tigers during the last census in 2018.

However, according to Indian media reports, two tigers, including the one killed on Saturday, and two tigresses have since died. There were nine cubs at the time.