In Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district, where human-tiger conflicts are rising, 60-year-old Govardhan Dange had a terrifying face-off with a tiger while tending to his field.
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00:00This is Govardhan Dange, a farmer from Nandgaon, Jani, Maharashtra, who fought off a tiger
00:09and saved his life.
00:20On the morning of March 16, 2025, 60-year-old Govardhan Dange was tending to his paddy field
00:25when a tiger, lurking in the shadows, pounced on him.
00:40Within moments, his son arrived with a crowd of villagers, forcing the tiger to retreat
00:44into the wilderness.
00:45The injured farmer was admitted to the rural hospital, where he is undergoing treatment.
00:49Maharashtra's Chandrapur district is known for its complex and often deadly relationship
00:53between humans and tigers.
00:55Chandrapur has witnessed a terrifying rise in human-tiger conflicts.
00:58In 2022 alone, 51 people lost their lives in tiger and other wildlife attacks.
01:03With 46 deaths in 2021 and 32 in 2020, the toll has been steadily rising.
01:08Rather than seeking revenge, villages across Chandrapur have turned to faith over fury.
01:13Families erect Vaghoba, the tiger god's shrine, at spots where tigers have taken lives.
01:17This serves as their symbolic and silent plea for the tigers to spare human lives.
01:21With over 175 tigers, the district holds one of Maharashtra's largest tiger populations.
01:27And as their numbers grow, so does the risk.