Pilibhit, November 5: A tigress mauled an elderly man, following which angry villagers crushed her to death with a tractor. The incident took place in the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit district on Sunday. The tigress killed 50-year-old Devanand. According to Mahavir Kaujlagi, deputy director of the reserve, the villagers killed the tigress in a retaliatory attack.

“While we were busy in rushing the injured man to hospital, the villagers surrounded the big cat and crushed it to death under a tractor,” Kaujlagi was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times. "The carcass of the tigress has been recovered, and the autopsy will be carried out under the NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority) guidelines on Monday," he added. Man-eater Tigress Avni's Killing: Maneka Gandhi Lashes out at Maharashtra Government For Giving Orders.

Ramesh Kumar Pandey, field director of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, said an FIR was lodged and action will be taken against those involved in the attack on the tigress. “An FIR will be lodged under the Wildlife Protection Act, and appropriate action will be taken. The killing of a tiger inside the protected area is a serious offence,” Pandey said.

Tiger, a ‘Schedule One’ species of endangered animals under the Wildlife Protection Act, is India's national animal. There have been retaliatory attacks on tigers in different parts of the country recently. Two days ago, hunters shot down 'man-eating' tigress Avni in Maharashtra. Avni, the six-year-old tigress, was gunned down in Pandharkawda forest.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, incidents of man-animal conflict are on the rise due to large-scale habitat destruction. “As tigers continue to lose their habitat and prey species, they are increasingly coming into conflict with humans as they attack domestic animals – and sometimes people. In retaliation, tigers are often killed by angry villagers,” says the WWF.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 05, 2018 09:50 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).