The incident occurred at Vanbairia village under Sahodar police station around 1.30 pm. The deceased was identified as Indradev Mahto.

Pradyuman Gaurav, the Divisional Forest Officer of Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) 1 confirms the incident. He said that the victim was feeding a goat in an agricultural field when a tiger attacked him.

“The geographical setting of Vanbairia village, with its proximity to both a river and a forest just 1 km away, creates a natural corridor for wildlife, including tigers. This route, which passes through farmland, particularly sugarcane fields, allows tigers to move between different sections of the forest. The victim went there to feed his goat. He was sitting near the sugarcane farmland when a tiger attacked him,” Gaurav said.

“When villagers learned about the incident, they promptly chased the tiger which eventually ran towards the forest area after listening to the noise of a large number of people,” Gaurav said.

The officer said that the tiger had dragged the dead body of the victim for 200 meters before fleeing from the spot.

“We have recovered the dead body and sent it for the postmortem. The forest department has a provision to compensate the victim’s family with Rs 10 lakh,” Gaurav said.

He added that the residents who have villages located in nearby VTR have been asked to stay alert and go to the agricultural field in groups.

Earlier, a male tiger was found dead in the Manguraha forest area in VTR a few weeks ago.

Valmiki Tiger Reserve, situated in the West Champaran district of Bihar, serves as a vital natural habitat for tigers. According to official reports, the reserve is home to approximately 60 adult tigers. This rich biodiversity makes the Valmiki Tiger Reserve an essential part of wildlife conservation in the region, supporting efforts to protect and preserve these majestic predators and their natural ecosystem.

Earlier in 2022, a man-eater tiger had killed nine people in villages located in the close proximity of VTR. It was eventually neutralised by the authorities.