Trapped in wetland, tiger cub falls to crocodile attack in West Champaran

Bettiah: In a reminder of the unforgiving laws of the wild, a young tiger cub’s desperate fight for life ended in tragedy in a wetland near the Manguraha forest range of Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) in West Champaran on Wednesday morning.

Separated from its mother and drawn towards water, the over seven-month-old cub is believed to have strayed into the Don canal wetland, unaware of the lurking danger beneath the surface.Villagers recalled hearing prolonged, roars echoing through the area for nearly half an hour — a sign of a fierce struggle. But by the time help could arrive, the fight was over. The cub, overpowered by a crocodile, succumbed to the brutal attack, its body no match for the predator’s crushing jaws.

By morning, only remains of the young animal were found, marking a grim end to its battle for survival.Forest officials said they received information about the tiger’s carcass near the wetland close to Meghauli Chowk. A team rushed to the spot and, based on a preliminary examination, estimated the cub’s age at around seven to eight months.“The cub may have strayed from its mother in search of water and entered the wetland, where it was possibly attacked by a crocodile.

Nearly 60-70% of the carcass had been consumed,” said Gaurav Ojha, conservator and field director of VTR, adding that teeth marks on the body confirmed the crocodile attack.The remains were brought to the Manguraha range office, where the postmortem was conducted. “Viscera samples have been preserved and will be sent to Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun for forensic and DNA analysis. The exact cause of death will be ascertained after the analysis report,” he added.Villagers said they heard a prolonged struggle between the two animals that lasted nearly half an hour. “We heard loud roars of the tiger cub from a distance but were unaware that it was fighting a crocodile. In the morning, we found the cub dead and informed the forest department,” a villager said.Official data shows that the Gandak river, which flows through West Champaran, is the country’s second-largest habitat for crocodiles and alligators after the Chambal river.Sameer Sinha, joint director of the Wildlife Trust of India, said improved conservation and management efforts have led to a steady increase in their population in the Gandak.He said crocodiles often move from the Gandak into auxiliary canals such as Tirhut, Triveni and Don. “Alligators are generally more reclusive and less aggressive, while crocodiles are more territorial and aggressive, making them dangerous to other animals and humans in shared waterways,” Sinha said.