Forest officials are searching for the animal using drones and camera traps
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/_Tiger-In-The-Wild-080926-2-1e7239416712410caf178f181d0145dc.jpg "A female Bengal tiger named Flying Bird coming out from a bath in a small pond at Pench National Park, India")
Credit: getty
NEED TO KNOW
- A man was found dead near his home in southern India on Aug. 9 after a suspected tiger attack
- Officials are searching for the animal using drones and camera traps
- Residents staged a protest demanding greater government action to prevent deadly wildlife encounters in the future
A man died in a suspected tiger attack near his home in India.
The remains of the man, who has been identified as a farmer named Balakrishnan, were found the morning of Sunday, Aug. 9, after he failed to return home the previous evening, according to Indian news outlets The New Indian Express, The Hindu and Onmanorama.
Balakrishnan went out into a field near his home at around 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8, to operate irrigation equipment, according to the Gudalur Forest Division, part of the larger Tamil Nadu Forest Department, per Onmanorama.
Credit: getty
Forest Division employees and residents began searching for Balakrishnan at around 7 a.m. on Sunday, and his remains were found later that day.
It appeared as though Balakrishnan had been attacked and eaten by a large mammal, and officials later stated that the man’s injuries appeared consistent with a tiger attack, according to the outlet.
The Forest Division stated that officials are actively searching for the animal that may have been responsible for the attack, and they are using drones and live camera traps in their search, per Onmanorama and The Hindu.
The Forest Division additionally said that it will provide immediate financial relief for the man’s family, per both outlets.
The Forest Division did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Residents staged a protest over the incident on Sunday, calling for increased government action to prevent further fatal wildlife encounters in the area.
R Ranjith, a town organizer, warned that the animal that potentially killed Balakrishnan still could pose an immediate danger to others.
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“The Forest Department should closely monitor the big cat and take concrete steps to prevent another such incident,” Ranjith said, per The New Indian Express.
“There is a high likelihood that the tiger could become a man-eater,” he added.
