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Desperate search for tiger that has killed eight people

A desperate search is under way for a tiger which has mauled to death it’s eighth victim in two years in India.

An elderly villager was killed by the tiger on Monday night when he ventured into the forest to get firewood in Khambada, which is about 660km from Mumbai.

The Indian Express has identified the elderly man as Maroti Pendam and the tiger devoured most of his body.

Deputy Conservator of Forest Arvind Mundhe told the Indian Express the tiger pounced on Mr Pendam and marks suggest it is the same tiger which has killed seven other victims.

Pictured in this generic photo is a female Bengal tiger at the Ranthambhore National Park in Rajasthan, India
A tiger in India has killed eight people, the most recent on October 5. Source:

"We have been trying to capture the tiger using tranquilliser darts but with no success," N.R. Praveen, a forest official in Maharashtra state, told AFP.

In recent decades, human encroachment on tiger habitats has increased in India, which has a population of 1.3 billion people.

This tiger, which is believed to be behind the eight deaths killed its first victim on January 18, 2019 and in addition to the fatalities, three people have been injured, The Indian Express reported.

India is home to around 70 per cent of the world’s tigers and from 2014 until 2019, nearly 225 people have been killed in tiger attacks, according to government figures.

Though the big cats have also suffered, more than 200 tigers were killed by poachers or electrocution between 2012 and 2018.

Last year, the government said the tiger population had risen to 2,967 in 2018 from a record low of 1,411 in 2006.

In June, a tiger blamed for killing three people was captured and sent to a zoo in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Officials said the big cat was "too dangerous" to be allowed to roam free.

With AFP

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