Mangalore, August 1: In a heart-wrenching incident, an animal caretaker at a Dr Shivaram Karanth Biological Park in Pilikula, on the outskirts of the city was fatally mauled by an ailing tiger on Tuesday night.
The caretaker, Kushalappa Gowda, 36, who suffered severe wounds during the attack, breathed his last while being taken to hospital.
This is first time that a caretaker has come under fatal attack by an animal at Pilikula.
H Jayaprakash Bhandary, director of the park, told 'Coastaldigest.com' that the incident occurred at around 9:00 pm, when the caretaker entered the enclosure of tiger Raja to examine its health condition.
He said that 16-year-old Raja was unwell since last four days and Gowda and another caretaker were supposed to observe its health every night before going to bed and report to the doctor.
“However, on Tuesday night an overconfident Gowda entered the cell without informing anybody. When his colleague, who was supposed to accompany him, began to search for him, he found the gate of the tiger's enclosure open and the animal was standing on the verandah. An unconscious caretaker was lying inside the enclosure”, he said.
Though a critically injured Gowda was rushed to a hospital doctors declared him brought dead, he said, adding that the caretaker was bitten in the neck, and he had some abrasions.
Mr Bhandary also said that Gowda was not supposed to enter the enclosure alone. His overconfidence led to this tragedy, he added.
He said that apart from Rs 1 lakh of insurance amount, the victim's kin would get Rs 1 lakh compensation from the park. Moreover Deputy Commissioner N S Channappa Gowda also has promised to release additional compensation, he added.
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