Sawai Madhopur: A seven-year-old boy, on a visit to a temple inside the Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, was killed by a tiger on Wednesday. The boy has been identified as Kartik Suman. He was a resident of the Bundi district in the state.
According to the child’s grandmother, she was holding Kartik by the hand when a tiger pounced from the nearby bushes, grabbed the boy by the neck and dragged him away. The boy’s uncle watched in shock.
Forest department officials recovered Kartik’s body from the nearby forests and handed it over to the family after an autopsy.
The family was returning after a visit to the Trinetra Ganesh Temple, a popular pilgrimage inside the National Park. On the way back, they apparently stopped to click photographs. One photograph show the boy sitting next to a Langur.
The tiger responsible for the attack has not been identified as yet. Foresters have said that there are three tigers – all females – in the neighborhood. Ranthambore National Park is home to more than 70 tigers.
Im November 2024, a herder had been killed by a tiger in Ranthambore, resulting in a retaliatory attack by villagers. An ailing tiger – not even associated with that killing – was mercilessly beaten to death by the villagers.
While the forest department has announced that compensation will be paid to Kartik’s family as per laid down rules, state agriculture minister Kirodi Lal Meena has urged the government for more vigil along the road leading to and from the temple that remains quite busy throughout the year.
Wildlife experts believe that the tiger population in Ranthambore exceeds its holding capacity, resulting in straying from the Core Area. The Core Area of Ranthambore is less than 300 square km. While a female tiger has a range of 15-20 square km, a male can operate over 150-200 square km.
