Animal heroics: Buffalo saves shepherd from tiger attack in Madhya Pradesh

BHOPAL: A buffalo saved a shepherd’s life in Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, once again showing how animals have stepped up as unlikely protectors against tiger attacks in the state’s forested areas, officials said.The latest incident took place in the Katangi range’s Ambezari beat, where 43-year-old Vitthal Bharatrao Aastkar had taken his cattle to graze. A tiger leapt from the forest, mauled a cow, and then turned on him, clawing his right arm. Before it could drag him away, one of his buffaloes charged at the predator. Startled, the tiger abandoned the attack and fled. Vitthal, bleeding from his elbow, was taken to hospital and is now recovering.Just months earlier, in March this year, a German Shepherd dog sacrificed its life while protecting its owner from an alleged tiger attack in Bharhut village, near Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Umaria district. Local resident Shivam Bargaiya was walking outside his house when a tiger emerged from the forest. The dog confronted the big cat with loud barking, giving Shivam crucial moments to retreat. The tiger then turned on the German Shepherd, grabbed it in its jaws, and tried to drag it into the jungle.

After a brief struggle, the tiger let go and slipped away, but the dog sustained fatal injuries and died hours later despite veterinary care. Villagers praised the dog’s extraordinary courage and loyalty.Incidents of animals defending humans against tiger attacks are not rare in Madhya Pradesh. In 2021, six buffaloes in Umaria’s Chusra beat surrounded a tiger that had attacked their owner, 26-year-old Lallu Yadav, near Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. The herd stood their ground until the tiger retreated. In 2013, a 70-year-old shepherd in Kachhoa village, also near Bandhavgarh, survived a tigress’s ambush only because his 10 buffaloes circled him and forced the predator to back off, even as two other villagers and his employer ran for safety.