Two buffaloes killed in ‘tiger attack’ in Chandgad corridor

Kolhapur: Forest officials in Kolhapur are investigating the deaths of two buffaloes following a tiger attack on Wednesday evening in Jambre village of Chandgad tehsil.
The location is within a known tiger corridor frequently used by the big cats to move between the Anshi-Dandeli Tiger Reserve in Karnataka, Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in Goa, and onward to the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra.
The owner of the cattle, a local farmer, reported witnessing the tiger attack. Police Patil of Jambre village, Janku Patil, said, "Tukaram Gawde, a local farmer, was grazing his buffaloes near the village. On Wednesday evening, a tiger suddenly emerged and attacked one of the buffaloes. Startled by the tiger, Gawde shouted loudly, causing the tiger to abandon that buffalo and attack the other one. Hearing Gawde's call for help, some young people from the area gathered. But by then the tiger had already left the scene."
Both buffaloes died in the attack, causing a loss of Rs 1.5 lakh to the farmer. Deputy conservator of forest G Guruprasad said, "It is true that the two buffaloes were killed over the rocky plateau near Jambre village of Chandgad. Usually buffaloes are killed by tigers only in our region. Leopards don't hunt bigger animals. The hunting pattern from behind and the few pugmarks spotted suggest that 99% the predator is a tiger. We have installed trap cameras, and only after we receive images we can be sure that the buffaloes were killed by a tiger."