Father saves son from a Royal Bengal Tiger in Sundarbans
A honey gatherer has been saved from the attack of a Royal Bengal Tiger in the Satkhira part of west Sundarbans.
The tiger mauled him and wounded his shoulder and hands.
The honey collector is Rabiul Sheikh, 25. His father, Md Halim, 55, snatched Rabiul from the mouth of the tiger.
The incident took place in the deep forest of the Sundarbans when a group of honey gatherers went to collect honey.
Rabiul was brought to a physician on Wednesday morning, taken first in a boat and later in a coast guard speedboat throughout the night.
Rabiul Sheikh said, "I saw a tiger running towards me. Seeing the tiger I went behind a tree. The tiger came like a bullet from a gun and dashed me to the ground and bit me. My father was present. My father hit the tiger with a stick and snatched me from the tiger. The tiger attacked me from the front."
He said the incident took place while they were walking beside a canal at around 5:00pm on Tuesday afternoon.
Honey researcher Syed Mohammad Moinul Anwar went to see him after his return being attacked by the tiger. He inquired about the whole incident.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, Anwar said tiger attacks all of a sudden. Other members of the team then become at a loss.
He also said the tiger bit his shoulder first.
His father Halim Sheikh had a stick and a machete. When the tiger bit, Halim Sheikh hit the tiger. But the tiger did not free Rabiul. Halim first hit the legs in the back and then in the front. At one stage of hitting, the tiger retaliated with its legs. Rabiul received injuries in his left hand.
Moinul Anwar said the father was brave. He hit continuously. At one stage, the tiger left.
A group of 12 to 13 honey gathers from ward no. 9 of Sora village of Gabura union in Shyamnagar of Satkhira went to the deep forest of Sundarbans. Rabiul Sheikh and father Halim Sheikh were in the team.
After the incident of attack, Rabiul's father brought him to the boat. Other members of the team first steered the boat throughout the night and later in a speedboat of the coast guard brought him to a place named Vatkhali adjacent to the Sundarbans where physician Solaiman treats people attacked by tigers and crocodiles.
Honey researcher Moinul Anwar said Rabiul's hand has been given four stitches. His shoulder has been bandaged with medicine.
When asked why other members of the team did not come to help, Moinul said members of honey gatherers in the Sundarbans usually walk maintaining distance. They have a target to search for beehives and collect honey. As a result, they sometimes come under such attacks.
Meanwhile, a man was killed in an attack by tiger in the Satkhira range of Sundarbans on Tuesday.
With the permission of the forest department, the honey gatherers collect honey from the deep forest of Sundarbans between 1 April and June every year. They collect honey in different groups. They stay for a week, even for a month in the Sundarbans. They pass night on boats.
*This report, originally published in Prothom Alo online edition, has been rewritten in English by Rabiul Islam.