A tiger has killed two farmers, Nana Kambadi and Premila Mahadole, in separate attacks within 24 hours in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
The Times of India reported that the first victim was 60-year-old Nana Kambadi. The big cat mauled Kambadi while he was working in an agricultural field.
Later that day, the predator struck again roughly five kilometres from the scene of the first incident. It attacked 40-year-old Premila Mahadole, whose remains were subsequently discovered by search parties in a nearby rice paddy.
Officials from the local forest department suspect that both killings were carried out by the same tiger. Wildlife authorities have launched an active tracking operation across the surrounding area to locate and capture the animal.
Search Operations and Village Safety
The state forest department manages wildlife reserves, handles conflicts between animals and residents, and oversees rescue operations across rural districts. When tracking a dangerous predator, forest rangers examine paw prints, set up motion-triggered camera traps along tree lines, and deploy armed patrol squads to monitor the terrain.
Forestry officials also issue urgent safety warnings to nearby agricultural communities during active searches. Local authorities urge villagers to avoid working alone in open fields during dawn and dusk, travel in groups, and stay clear of dense brush until the animal is located or driven back into protected forests.
The double fatality in Maharashtra follows an earlier deadly incident reported in the neighbouring central state of Madhya Pradesh. In that attack, a tiger mauled a 62-year-old man who was grazing cattle, dragging the herdsman deep into the forest and inflicting fatal injuries.
Wildlife Corridors and Agricultural Land
Both Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh contain extensive networks of protected tiger reserves, national parks and natural wildlife corridors. However, dense human settlements and farmlands frequently surround these conservation zones, leaving little space between designated wilderness boundaries and rural villages.
India is home to the vast majority of the world's wild Bengal tigers. Successful conservation programmes over recent decades have increased animal numbers across several reserves, but shrinking buffer zones mean big cats often venture beyond park boundaries in search of food and territory.
Agricultural fields offer convenient cover for large predators moving through fragmented landscapes. Tall crops and flooded rice paddies provide shade and water, drawing wild animals closer to farmers and livestock. Herders and crop workers remain particularly vulnerable because their daily livelihoods require them to spend long hours outside on the edges of woodland.
