It makes for great TV: A tigress exploding out of tall, dry grass to make a beeline for a herd of terrified deer. And if the cat charges at the camera? Even better.
Well, if you’re the person behind the lens, maybe not so much. Even if you’re in a vehicle and can manage a quick getaway, you feel your heartbeat rise by…er, leaps and bounds.
Check out this viral video from the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra. Here, the tigress is in hot pursuit of a tourist vehicle on a jungle trail.
At one point, she appears to be just metres away.
Due to heavy tourism in
Tadoba jungle tiger is behind jeep. pic.twitter.com/WnV02JHq6e— D Nanore (@DNanore2) November 12, 2018
Would you believe the sleek, powerful animal you just saw is just around three years old? That’s what NR Pravin, the TATR field director, told a leading daily. He also said the tigress is “known to have charged at tourist vehicle[s] in the past”.
Why did she charge? A forest officer told ANI she may have felt inscure, and did it to drive the tourists off her territory.
Maha: In a viral video, a tigress was seen chasing a vehicle carrying tourists at Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur. Forest Officer says, "She might've felt insecure&did that to drive them off her territory. Issued guidelines to prevent this from happening again" (12.11) pic.twitter.com/oWoyRm6mr5
— ANI (@ANI) November 12, 2018
Man-animal conflict has been in the news lately, especially in Maharashtra. In Yavatmal district, a tigress said to have killed 13 people was shot dead this month. Her name was Avni, and she was the mother of two cubs.
Maneka Gandhi, a minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, said her killing was a “ghastly murder”.
Avni’s shooter said he opened fire when she charged.
