Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Ma Nature: trying to kill you 24/7

An Indian woman armed only with farm tools is stable in hospital after killing a leopard that attacked her.

Kamla Devi, 56, sustained multiple bites, cuts and fractures during the half-hour battle.
Lady, I tip my hat to you.

And from a couple of links in that story,
Forest workers say they have shot dead a tiger blamed for killing seven people in the past six months in western India.

The tiger, described as a "man-eater" by authorities, killed the victims in a forest in Chandrapur in Maharashtra.

This was the third tiger to be shot dead for killing people in the area since 2007, officials said.

And Why are India's tigers killing humans?
Ah, because they're edible, and easier to kill than deer and water buffalo?

And from 2010,
Officials in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh say they have captured a tiger that had killed eight people.

The male tiger was tranquilised and taken to Lucknow Zoo on Thursday evening after a chase lasting several months. Vets are monitoring the animal's behaviour and health.

The tiger claimed his first human in May near the India-Nepal border.

Officials say he was not a typical "man-eater" as he had been killing wild animals as well as humans.
So he was acting more like a leopard, treating people as just one more item on the menu.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"...during the half-hour battle."

God. Damn.

That must have been one hungry kitty cat.

markm said...

"Why are India's tigers killing humans?"

Because most of the humans are unarmed, and they run slower and are less aware of their surroundings than deer or any other wild prey.

Predators avoid armed humans. In North America, where men hardly ever left the village unarmed before civilization set in, wolves do not attack humans and attacks directly on humans by cougars were very rare (although increasing recently - after a century of fewer people carrying arms). In Europe, where the peasants have often been disarmed, there are tales of wolf packs not only attacking lone men, but also of pursuing whole parties of humans.