Stray tiger causes havoc at Indian university

A hairy student. In India, on the campus of Bhopal University in the center of the country, a tiger has been wandering for several days. About fifty forest service agents were mobilized to try to locate the animal and transport it to the forest area where it usually lives. The beast, present around the vast campus for more than a week, would have already had time to kill two cows.

“We’ve also set up ten camera traps to track his movements, as well as a cage, and we’re waiting. But the tiger did not come out”said Alok Pathak, officer of the forest services of the region, who specified that the animal is one of the twelve tigers which live in the forests around Bhopal, capital of the state of Madhya Pradesh.

“We can’t take chances with a tiger wandering around campus”

In particular, the tiger headed for this huge campus because it includes wooded areas, and offers good water resources, good vegetation cover, not to mention free-roaming livestock, thus offering a good pantry, said Mr. Pathak. .

The presence of the tiger forced the university to postpone its annual technology festival which was supposed to bring together nearly 10,000 students came from all over India. “Just imagine! A tech festival rescheduled because of a tiger. But we understand that this is the only solution. We can’t take chances with a tiger wandering around campus.”, a student told The Times of India newspaper. The Department of Forestry, however, assured that the campus was safe for students in broad daylight, while recommending that all “do not venture outside alone, by bicycle or on foot, after sunset”. According to Indian government figures, 225 people died in India from tiger attacks between 2014 and 2019.