LUCKNOW, Feb. 6 -- Just 50 feet ahead of their bikes, a tiger emerged from the shadows, leaving villagers in Lakhimpur's Mohamadi forest range frozen in a bone-chilling standoff late one evening, two days ago.

The wild cat strolled out from a nearby sugarcane field, walking slightly beside the narrow dirt track, which was just wide enough for two bikes to pass side by side. The tiger glanced at the humans from a distance, seemingly uninterested in hunting, and then sat down on the road, blocking the entire path. A video of the encounter, filmed by villagers in Shakarpur, went viral on Wednesday.

The tiger, appearing to be at least five feet in length, moved toward the dirt track, brought its right front limb forward, and placed it firml...