UP: Tiger kills man near Maheshpur forest range

A 22-year-old man was mauled to death by a tiger near Maheshpur range forest area which comes under South Kheri forest division, an official said on Saturday.

The incident took place in a sugarcane field where Lala Ram, a resident of Asharfiganj village, was working, District Forest Officer (South Kheri) Sameer Verma said.

"Sugarcane-Tigers", a term commonly used for big cats in the Terai forests, are mainly responsible for the man-animal conflict in the region as tigers see sugarcane fields as natural grasslands.

Forest officials said that due to excessive human intervention, the tigers, especially those near the fringe areas, get increasingly restive leading to conflict.

Man-animal conflict cases are on the rise in the Terai region, including areas of Pilibhit, Lakhimpur-Kheri and Bahraich districts, mostly due to encroachment and settlements in and around the forest areas.