MP: Courageous woman fights off tiger, saves toddler son from its jaws

Umaria: A 25-year-old woman from a village in Madhya Pradesh showed exemplary courage and saved her 15-month-old son from the jaws of a tiger.

The two are currently undergoing treatment in a hospital for the injuries they received in the incident which took place in Umaria district’s Rohania village under Mala beat of the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve on Sunday morning.

District officials said they are trying to trace the tiger and would take steps to ensure the safety of people living in forest areas.

The woman, identified as Archana Choudhary, said she had taken her son Raviraj to a field to answer nature’s call when the tiger attacked him and held him by its jaws. When she tried to save her son, the feline attacked her also.

Choudhary said she kept making efforts to save her child. She also raised an alarm and later some villagers reached there. The villagers then chased away the carnivore, who fled into the forest leaving the child behind.

Choudhary’s husband Bhola Prasad said his wife received waist, hand and back injuries and their son was hurt on the head and back.

After the attack, the woman and her son were immediately taken to a health centre in Manpur and later to the district hospital in Umaria for treatment, forest guard Ram Singh Marko said.

A forest department team was trying to track the tiger which attacked the child and his mother, he said. Umaria Collector Sanjeev Shrivastava met the woman and her son in the district hospital.

He said the two have been referred to a hospital in Jabalpur for further treatment. The collector also said he will hold a meeting with the forest department officials to ensure the safety of villagers residing in forest areas.