Tiger snatches man off boat, leaps back into Sunderbans jungle

Kolkata, Jun 27: The danger of venturing into the prohibited areas of Sunderbans was revealed again on Thursday morning when a tiger jumped from the bank of a creek and leapt back with a man in its jaws. This is the fourth time that a human was killed by a tiger in the Sunderbans this year.

The victim, 62-year-old Sushil Majhi, lived in Lahiripur near Datta river, less than kilometre from a creek that runs deep into the forest. Along with his son Jyotish, 40, and adopted daughter Molina, Majhi would often row up the creek to catch crabs.

On Thursday, at the crack of dawn, the three set out on a boat to the forests of Kholakhali, an area where fishing is banned.

Jyotish sat in front of the boat, Sushil in the middle and Molina at the tai. That is how they balanced the vessel while pulling in the net.

"Shortly after we reached the spot, around 7am, we got a whiff of a strange odour. We immediately decided to turn back to a safer zone," Jyotish told TOI. They were paddling towards a less dense area when a tiger that had been stalking them struck like lightning.

"Suddenly, my sister cried out: 'Dada, bagh (tiger)'. I was stunned, and my body froze. All I saw a flash of yellow. It took me a moment to register the gruesome sight before me. My father was completely buried under the beast. I could only see his legs thrashing about. I shook off my numbness and grabbed a stick. Molina, too, took out a long cutter we use to clear foliage in the jungle. Together, we poked and battered the tiger, but it refused to give up," he said.

Despite being attacked, the tiger concentrated on its kill and once it got a good grip, it held Majhi by his neck and jerked the body in a way that it landed on its back, said Jyotish. "It jumped off and landed on the bank in one giant leap. We saw it disappear into the jungle with my father still in its jaws," he added, shaking from the ordeal.

Jyotish and Molina raised the alarm and some fishermen paddled furiously in their direction.

"But they didn't dare chase the tiger into the deep woods. Molina was so traumatized that she lost consciousness. I didn't take any further risk and returned with her as quickly as possible," said Jyotish.

Majhi's body is unlikely to be recovered, as countless other human victims before him.

Sunderbans Tiger Reserve field director Soumitra Dasgupta said there were reports of a tiger attacking a fisherman on Thursday morning.

"Fishing is banned in the forests where the incident took place," he said.