Madhya Pradesh: Tigress mom fights off tiger, saves 15-month baby

BHOPAL: Claws stabbing into her lungs, a 25-year-old mother fought off a tiger, unarmed, and snatched her infant child from its jaws on Sunday. Both of them were bloodied and grievously injured in the wild encounter on the fringes of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve - but they came out alive.
Mother and child are in hospital and expected to pull through. The baby, a 15-month-old, has deep gashes on his head while his mother, Archana Choudhary, suffered punctured lungs and deep wounds to her abdomen.For a while, Archana's condition worried doctors but she was stabilized by Monday evening. Archana lives with her family in Rohania village, which comes under Mala beat of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Umaria district. She had taken her son Raviraj out of the hut to relieve himself when a tiger jumped from the bushes and attacked the child.
It clamped down on the baby’s head and tried to sink its fangs into his neck but the mother leapt to the rescue. Archana used her bare hands to fight the tiger and keep it from biting him, screaming for help all the while. The life-and-death tussle continued for a couple of minutes when the tiger kept trying to snatch the baby but the mother stood in between, kicking and punching. Ignoring the gashes and cuts made by the tiger’s claws — some so deep that they punctured her lungs — she held it off long enough for villagers to run to her aid.
The tiger gave up the fight and jumped back into the woods. Villagers took mother and child to Manpur primary health centre, where they were given first-aid and sent to the district hospital in Umaria, 30km away. Archana’s husband Bhola Prasad told media that she sustained injuries to her abdomen, back and hands in the fight. Umaria Collector Sanjeev Shrivastava met the woman and her son in hospital and assured them of all possible help.
They have since been referred to Jabalpur, 130km away, for further treatment. The collector held a meeting with the forest department to ensure the safety of villagers. A search operation is underway to push the tiger back to its territory. Villagers have been told to stay indoors at night. In November last year, a tribal woman took on a leopard with her bare hands and snatched her sixyear-old son from its jaws in a bloody fight in a village near Sanjay Gandhi National Park in MP’s Sidhi district.