This week, there was a commotion in the village of Atkona in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
In the early hours of Monday morning, a tiger somehow escaped from the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve and made its way into the village of Atcona, about 20 kilometres from the reserve.
(Tiger enters the village)
The tiger chose a family, jumped on the courtyard wall of their house and began to rest, looking very leisurely.
(Tiger resting on the courtyard wall)
Soon the tiger was spotted, and early the next morning, the news of the "tiger entering the village" spread throughout the village.
The villagers wanted to see the tiger, so they all came to this house to join in the fun.
(Villagers watch the tiger)
They stood outside the walls of the house, surrounded by a circle of people, three floors inside and three floors outside, and even on the roof of the house next to them.
(The courtyard is surrounded by onlookers)
Many people held up their mobile phones to take photos or videos to record this strange scene.
(Villagers take pictures with their mobile phones)
There are also people who open videos to broadcast live to friends.
(Someone opens the video)
The villagers watched the tiger as a Western scene, and the picture looked a little funny, and the tiger probably had never seen so many humans in his life.
But if you think about it carefully, it also makes people sweat for these villagers.
(Villagers watch the tiger)
The night before, after people spotted the tiger, someone kept shining a flashlight on the tiger and disturbed its rest.
The tiger, who had been lying down and closing his eyes, was opened by the light and roared softly at the crowd as a warning.
(老虎被灯光打扰)
The next morning, so many people surrounded the tiger, talking and talking, and the scene was very noisy.
In case the tiger is annoyed by the crowd, or feels threatened, the consequences are unimaginable.
(Villagers watch the tiger)
Fortunately, these situations did not happen, and the tiger's mood has been very stable, even much more stable than the crowd of onlookers, and he did not get angry even if people watched.
(Tiger is very calm)
In addition to eating melons and onlookers, there are still reasonable people who report the situation to the relevant departments on the first night.
After receiving the alert, the forestry department sent people to the village the next morning to set up a safety zone around the tiger to ensure the safety of both the tiger and the villagers.
At about 10 a.m., the rescue team from the reserve arrived and fired four tranquilizer darts at the tiger, two of which missed, one was pulled out by the tiger and one successfully hit.
When the effect of the drug was onset and the tiger's consciousness gradually blurred, the rescuers began to approach and control the tiger.
Because of the limited conditions, only one rescuer could pull the tiger's tail, and the others waited for the opportunity to cover the tiger's head and body with two pieces of cloth to let it slowly calm down.
(Tiger controlled by rescue team)
It took eight hours from the time the tiger entered the village to the time it was taken away by the rescue team, and it was finally brought back to the reserve without any danger.
The deputy director of the sanctuary said in an interview that a 2-3-year-old female tiger appeared to be in good health and was being observed by a veterinarian.
People are curious, why can this tiger be so calm when it is watched by so many people?
Many netizens are aware of the dangers, as one netizen put it: "The biggest challenge is to protect the tiger from the crowds and the endless selfie craze." ”
(Screenshot from X user @supriyasahuias)
Other netizens are also worried, or have some speculation about the tiger's reaction-
"Crazy, why are people allowed to be so close to tigers, just through the nylon nets???"
(Screenshot from X user @RkkiTkkiTavi)
"Even the people on the roofs are not safe. Tigers are known to be able to jump that high. ”
(Screenshot from X user @halfcapitalist)
"Let this poor cat stay alone. ”
(Screenshot from X user @sufferrrrrrrrr)
"What a beautiful tiger, just sitting so calmly, only to be disturbed by the noisy people around him frantically taking selfies and recording videos. The animals look much stronger than the humans around them. ”
(Screenshot from X user @DPSingh32)
"I hope that the crowd will be dispersed and that the tigers will be able to return to the reserve without any problems. It must be stressful. ”
(Screenshot from X user @elpresto777)
"Tigers usually avoid humans, and this tiger doesn't have it at all, which is dangerous for both tigers and humans. ”
(Screenshot from X user @yakowlang)
"It's an unusual reaction for a tiger. You should check for disease. ”
(Screenshot from X user @Saket_Badola)
"We humans have invaded their habitats. ”
(Screenshot from X user @tanuj_sarai)
"The predators are not them, but humans. ”
(Screenshot from X user @manmohan_k61451)
Regarding the speculation of netizens, the deputy director of the reserve explained that
"From what I know and experience, this tiger is still very young and has always lived close to human life, so it is not frightened by this. ”
(Villagers watch the tiger, and the tiger also looks at the crowd)
There were some twists and turns along the way, but thankfully, the tigers have been returned to the reserve and no one was injured.
However, I guess no one wants the same situation to happen again......