Angry Indian villagers trapped several forest department staff inside a tiger trap as punishment for failing to catch the big cat killing their cattle.
Locals from Karnataka state’s Bommalapura village forced ten Bandipur National Park employees into the cage due to their slow response to a local tiger sightings.
A big cat, sighted by local farmers, is believed to be responsible for a recent spate of cattle deaths.
The staff were reportedly rescued later that day. Five people having been arrested following the incident.
Tigers are said to be constant threat in Chamarajanagar district, southwest India – home to two tiger reserves and a wildlife sanctuary.
Forest officials reportedly set up a cage with a calf as bait earlier this month to catch the tiger.
But locals have claimed their response has not been good enough.
‘We have complained repeatedly, but no combing has been carried out. Just placing a cage is not enough,’ a local farmer told Express News Service.
Exasperated by the authorities’ lack of action, villagers reportedly trapped ten forest staff members inside the cage when they visited on Tuesday, September 9.
An astonishing video appears to show the disgruntled men imprisoned within the structure as smiling villagers watch on.
The staff were reportedly rescued by other villagers, forest personnel, and police.
Five people have reportedly been arrested, and a case has been filed by a forest officer, M N Shashidhar, Additional Superintendent of Police, said on Wednesday.
Anger over tigers in Chamarajanagar district has been rising in recent years.
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In July, local farmers poisoned a tigress and her four cubs in Male Mahadeshwara Hills Wildlife Sanctuary after the tigress killed a farmer’s cattle.
In another incident from Bandipur, a video showing a man being chased by a wild elephant went viral.
The man had gone dangerously close to take a selfie, causing the elephant to charge at him.
Forest officials later tracked him down and fined him Rs 25,000 for endangering himself and disturbing wildlife.
They reminded tourists that Bandipur is home to elephants, deer, and wild boars, and urged visitors to keep a safe distance.
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