Watch: Bengal Tiger Crushed To Death During Botched Rescue Attempt

The battle between nature and man has been raging for millennia. Farming, construction, deforestation, nearly everything seems to result in the native flora and fauna making way for ‘human progress’. This overlap of territories comes with disastrous consequences and fatalities on both sides.

Last Thursday, a woman and her father-in-law were killed by a tiger in the Uttarakhand district of Bailpadav. The tiger may have strayed away from the nearby Corbett National Park and was tracked down later that same day. After administering tranquilisers the forest officials attempted to capture the animal with the aid of a heavy duty mechanical digger.

During the process, however, the tiger was trapped under the heavy arm of the machine as officials entrapped it in a net. The now gravely wounded tiger was taken to Nainital Zoo for treatment where it died later the same evening. The post-mortem revealing the numerous causes of death included asphyxiation, injuries inflicted from conflicts with other tigers and septicaemia (blood poisoning). A report in the Hindustan Times added that the tiger broke its tooth on the machine, causing it to choke on its own blood. In another report an unidentified wildlife activist alleged that death had been due to an overdose of tranquillisers.

This shambolic ‘rescue mission’ is yet another testament to India’s pitiful wildlife conservation efforts. When once 50,000 - 80,000 tigers roamed free, today an estimated 2,500 or so remain. In a country where the human population exceeds one billion and undeveloped, natural habitats stands at three per cent, balancing the human-wildlife conflict becomes imperative. Royal Bengal Tigers have long been the national animal and a symbol of India’s regal heritage so to see one struggle helplessly for life at the hands of people sworn to protect them is something that never should have come to pass.

The video below contains disturbing images. Viewer discretion is advised.