When a tiger killed Shanti: What makes women vulnerable to tiger attacks in Corbett

Two days aft the incident, the tiger was captured by the Forest Department and sent to the Corbett Rescue Centre.

Since 2017, Ramnagar part has seen 12 deaths successful attacks by tigers, of which 7 were of women. In 2024, 5 deaths were reported adjacent the Corbett buffer country — 4 of these victims were women and 3 of them from Dhela, a colony successful the buffer portion of the Corbett National Park. So acold this year, determination person been 2 deaths successful tiger attacks successful 2 days.

Ramnagar Divisional Forest Officer Diganth Nayak says women often autumn prey to tigers due to the fact that they task into forests to cod fodder for their cattle and firewood. “When women beryllium connected their haunches to prime firewood and chopped grass, tigers mistake them for prey,” helium says.

Life successful a buffer zone

The Corbett National Park, dispersed implicit 1,288.31 quadrate kilometres and 3 districts — Pauri, Nainital, and Almora — is location to 260 tigers, making this the parkland with the highest density of tigers successful the country, according to the Status of Tiger study 2022. According to information provided by Saket Badola, director, nationalist park, determination are astir 46 villages with a combined colonisation of 2,939 adjacent the Corbett buffer zone.

While a fewer younker are employed successful homestays and resorts, astir of the villages surrounding the parkland trust connected dairy and subsistence farming. But with the nutrient of atom and wheat hardly capable for their families and with predominant instances of animals raiding their crops, the villagers crook to the forests for firewood and insignificant wood produce. Since astir of the men person migrated to the cities for work, it leaves the women to enarthrosis the foraging responsibilities.

Villagers are seen bringing firewood from the jungle. According to officials, since men person migrated to cities successful hunt of work, women are near to enarthrosis the foraging responsibilities. (Express photo: Aiswarya Raj)

On a January morning, the wood section called a gathering astatine Dhela, a colony connected the roadworthy to 1 of the 8 Corbett zones, to resoluteness this human-animal struggle and to find an reply to a prickly problem: however to halt women from venturing into the forests.

At the meeting, Corbett Deputy Director Rahul Mishra’s involution — that ineligible enactment would beryllium taken against villagers venturing into the wood — is met with anger.

“Our women spell to the wood for livelihood and it can’t beryllium stopped. If you endanger to nonstop america to jail, we volition gladly go,” a antheral seethes.

DFO Nayak shoots back, “You accidental you person been going to the wood for 20 years. Back then, determination were 80 tigers. Now, determination are implicit 260. We person to alteration our traditions. Nothing is much important than life.”

DFO Nayak yet tables a resolution: “Women tin spell retired to fetch firewood, but successful groups of 15, doubly a week from each village, and our wood officials volition travel them. This volition alteration the chances of an encounter.” The officials besides committedness to bring fodder to the villages astatine nominal rates of Rs 2.50 per kg.

Why bash women participate the forest?

When the gathering ends, the women are the archetypal to leave. Prema Mehra, 43, says the wood officials volition halt accompanying them aft 2 days. “They are much frightened than us,” she says, and her radical of 10 women laughter loudly.

Mimicking the DFO astatine the meeting, she says, “‘Is going to the wood for firewood much important than her life?’ Of people we request firewood and wherever volition we get that but from the forests? See, my hubby earns Rs 400 a time arsenic a operator astatine the safari park, but helium does not get a thrust daily. We person 1.2 acres connected which we turn wheat but that’s hardly capable for us. Anyway, immoderate small we turn has reduced drastically arsenic animals support raiding our crops. We cannot spend heaters oregon blowers. Firewood keeps america warm, heats our water, and helps america navigator food. The authorities has fixed america state cylinders, but who volition wage america for refilling it each 20 days.”

Forest officials, however, accidental the women often illegally merchantability the firewood to homestays and resorts for Rs 300-400 during the wintertime season, erstwhile agriculture is connected the wane.

Women successful Dhela colony adjacent Jim Corbett, Uttarakhand. (Express photo: Aiswarya Raj)

Though, nether the Forest Rights Act, villagers are allowed to cod and usage insignificant wood produce, this is restricted to self-consumption. Only the Uttarakhand Forest Department Corporation is allowed to prosecute successful the merchantability of timber, firewood, bamboo and insignificant minerals for nationalist and industries.

“We person been asking the resorts not to bargain from the villagers and person told them to nutrient the receipts of acquisition from the Forest Corporation, yet, the signifier continues,” helium says.

Dr K Ramesh, idiosyncratic astatine the Wildlife Institute of India and Adjunct Professor astatine the University of British Columbia, says the occupation requires much than conscionable policing and compensation erstwhile a casualty happens. “The authorities should fig retired a determination land-use strategy with zoning — people retired human-use areas, halfway wildlife habitat, buffer zones, and corridors,” helium says.

A kilometre distant from the gathering ground, 76-year-old Devaki Devi is cutting writer connected her tiny portion of onshore — fodder for her cattle that’s cooped up successful a dilapidated shed. “Today, I volition negociate with this, but soon, we volition person to spell again to the forest,” she says. A widow, Devaki’s six sons enactment successful towns and cities successful different states.

The load of venturing retired into the forests for foraging has been disproportionately shouldered by women implicit centuries.

In conservationist Jim Corbett’s fabled Man-Eaters of Kumaon, helium mentions respective instances of however women were susceptible to tiger attacks arsenic it was “their work to fetch grass”. During 1 of his days retired connected the lookout for a ‘man-eater tiger’, Corbett writes of a pistillate helium saw successful the forest. “Was determination nary man? Yes, determination was a man, but helium was successful the fields ploughing, and successful immoderate case, it was the work of women to fetch water,” says the publication published successful 1944.

Shanti’s mother-in-law Anuli says, “We person to spell to the wood for our livelihood. We don’t person a job. I had 3 goats which were eaten by the tiger once. The lone root of income was the horse, but aft Shanti’s death, we gave it away,” Anuli says.

A neighbour, Muni Devi, says, “We person not stepped retired of our homes successful 4 days. We volition not permission for 2 much days, uske baad phir se chaalu hoga (after that, we volition spell backmost to the forest).”

In 2007, the Forest Department came up with a program to halt women from venturing into the wood — teaching them to stitch tote bags that they tin merchantability astatine the Corbett souvenir shop. This was successful summation to a souvenir store that was opened successful 2022 and a bakery a twelvemonth later. However, villagers accidental the tote container strategy has been stuck for the past 3 years.

A hike successful compensation for deaths caused by carnal attacks — successful Uttarakhand, it is currency Rs 6 lakh — has been a continuous request by villagers. They mention the lawsuit of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, wherever governments grant Rs 25 lakh successful akin situations.

Dr Ramesh of the Wildlife Institute of India, however, says compensation schemes are known to beryllium counterproductive. “In Maharashtra, determination person been cases of aged radical being thrown wrong forests for families to get compensation money. There request to beryllium semipermanent solutions. The reasons that thrust women to hazard their lives request to beryllium studied,” helium says.

Girls successful the villages

While it’s hard to support their mothers out, the younger girls successful these villages anticipation they would ne'er person to task wrong the forests.

Though her begetter dropped retired of schoolhouse aft Class 10 and parent aft Class 5, Lalita Mehra, 22, has an MSc successful Botany. She is present successful Dehradun, preparing for an exam that volition instrumentality her person to her extremity of being a forester. “There were nary colleges adjacent our colony that offered a PCB operation (Physics, Chemistry, Biology), truthful I went to Dehradun. When I called my household 2 days ago, they told maine that a antheral was killed by a tiger 3 km distant from our village. I person been pleading with my parent not to spell to the forests,” she says.

Her sister Babita says that aft Class 12, she plans to permission the colony to hole for a defence unit test. An aunt, she says, was killed successful a tiger onslaught 18 years ago. “We girls volition enactment an extremity to this signifier of going to the forest,” she insists.

At Okhaldhunga, Shanti Devi’s 23-year-old daughter-in-law Kiran says she has ne'er ventured wrong the forest. A Bachelor of Pharmacy student, Kiran shakes her caput erstwhile asked if she goes to the forest. “I volition ne'er go. I unrecorded successful Almora for my studies and sojourn the colony each 2 weeks. Now with my mother-in-law’s death, determination is nary 1 astatine location to look aft my father-in-law, truthful everything is uncertain. But I americium definite that I bash not privation to bash this work. I volition look for a occupation successful the section anganwadi aft graduation,” she says.

But the mothers are not listening. Around 4 p.m. connected Saturday, equipped with a sickle, Anita Devi, 31, prepares to permission for the forest, a regular she hasn’t missed successful 15 years. “We are going to work, but determination is amusive successful going together. Nothing volition hap to us,” she says, calling retired to her friends successful Kumaoni.