Scared Indian villager builds body armour against tiger attack
- 6 years ago
An Indian villager has fabricated a body armour to protect himself from tiger attacks.
Shankar Atram, 45, who makes a living as a shepherd, grazes his cattle at a forest near his village Borati in the Yavatmal district of Maharashtra, western India.
Tigers have killed 10 people in 11 villages in the last 20 months here creating widespread fear among people.
Most villagers avoid the forest or step inside in groups.
Atram, who herds cattle to support a family of four, says he does not have that choice.
A few months ago a close encounter with a tiger made him fear for his safety. The tiger killed a cow forcing him to climb a tree and come up with the idea of building armour, much like a Medieval knight's, to defend himself.
He fabricated a chest guard with metal sheets and a pair of shorts with barbed wire. He then put together a neck shield with protruding iron nails.
The chest and neck guards are held together with a lock and key.
If a tiger decides to launch from behind there is a metal plate hanging on his back to fend off the attack.
A second-hand helmet and a hand axe complete his line of defence.
Atram developed his armour with a lot of thought.
Most of the 10 victims who died were attacked from the rear and bitten on the neck, he points out.
His fellow villagers are sceptical if the armour can really stop a tiger from attacking him.
But Atram says: “It will at least give me a fighting chance or time to raise an alarm if a tiger attacks.”
Since he built the armour Atram has spotted a tiger only once.
Shankar Atram, 45, who makes a living as a shepherd, grazes his cattle at a forest near his village Borati in the Yavatmal district of Maharashtra, western India.
Tigers have killed 10 people in 11 villages in the last 20 months here creating widespread fear among people.
Most villagers avoid the forest or step inside in groups.
Atram, who herds cattle to support a family of four, says he does not have that choice.
A few months ago a close encounter with a tiger made him fear for his safety. The tiger killed a cow forcing him to climb a tree and come up with the idea of building armour, much like a Medieval knight's, to defend himself.
He fabricated a chest guard with metal sheets and a pair of shorts with barbed wire. He then put together a neck shield with protruding iron nails.
The chest and neck guards are held together with a lock and key.
If a tiger decides to launch from behind there is a metal plate hanging on his back to fend off the attack.
A second-hand helmet and a hand axe complete his line of defence.
Atram developed his armour with a lot of thought.
Most of the 10 victims who died were attacked from the rear and bitten on the neck, he points out.
His fellow villagers are sceptical if the armour can really stop a tiger from attacking him.
But Atram says: “It will at least give me a fighting chance or time to raise an alarm if a tiger attacks.”
Since he built the armour Atram has spotted a tiger only once.