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Journalism of Courage
A rabid dog bit a tiger at the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh last week,an almost unheard-of occurrence that triggered panic among veterinary doctors and authorities at the park.
The tiger has been given two shots of anti-rabies vaccine,and is under watch. Park authorities were keeping their fingers crossed,but said that they expected the animal to survive.
The dog,belonging to one of the few families that remain to be relocated outside the park,charged at the tiger,a three-year-old male,in Hinauta range on September 10. A forest employee was able to photograph the dog facing the tiger.
The tiger did not react to the provocation,and turned to walk away from the dog. But the dog continued to charge at the massively bigger and stronger cat,and bit its tail. According to park sources,the irritated tiger then shoved the dog away with a tap to its neck,the force of which nonetheless flattened the dog and left it unconscious for half an hour.
After regaining consciousness,the dog bit a labourer the same night. Local villagers who had been watching the behaviour of the animal killed it the next day,deputy director of the Panna Tiger Reserve V S Parihar said.
Parihar said that tests on the dead dog had confirmed that it was suffering from rabies. The tiger has been kept under supervision, he said,without elaborating.
Dr AB Shrivastava,director of the Centre for Wildlife Forensics and Health,who recommended the treatment to the Panna authorities,said the full course of the vaccination will have to be administered to the big cat according to the prescribed schedule. He said the disease has a long incubation period,and there is no alternative to vaccination.
Both Shrivastava and Parihar said the tiger will live.
