Maharashtra farmer fights off tiger, escapes with his life

India Today

In Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district, where human-tiger conflicts are rising, 60-year-old Govardhan Dange had a terrifying face-off with a tiger while tending to his field.

Transcript

00:00This is Govardhan Dange, a farmer from Nandgaon, Jani, Maharashtra, who fought off a tiger

00:09and saved his life.

00:20On the morning of March 16, 2025, 60-year-old Govardhan Dange was tending to his paddy field

00:25when a tiger, lurking in the shadows, pounced on him.

00:40Within moments, his son arrived with a crowd of villagers, forcing the tiger to retreat

00:44into the wilderness.

00:45The injured farmer was admitted to the rural hospital, where he is undergoing treatment.

00:49Maharashtra's Chandrapur district is known for its complex and often deadly relationship

00:53between humans and tigers.

00:55Chandrapur has witnessed a terrifying rise in human-tiger conflicts.

00:58In 2022 alone, 51 people lost their lives in tiger and other wildlife attacks.

01:03With 46 deaths in 2021 and 32 in 2020, the toll has been steadily rising.

01:08Rather than seeking revenge, villages across Chandrapur have turned to faith over fury.

01:13Families erect Vaghoba, the tiger god's shrine, at spots where tigers have taken lives.

01:17This serves as their symbolic and silent plea for the tigers to spare human lives.

01:21With over 175 tigers, the district holds one of Maharashtra's largest tiger populations.

01:27And as their numbers grow, so does the risk.

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