Malappuram, May 15 -- In a grim reminder of the escalating human-wildlife conflict in Kerala's forest-fringe areas, a 45-year- old rubber tapper was tragically mauled to death by a tiger on Thursday morning near Adakkakundu in Kalikavu, barely two kilometres from the Ravuthanbhagham forest.
According to police, the deceased was identified as Abdul Gafoor of Kallamoola near Chokkadu Panchayat.
He was en route to a rubber plantation alongside his colleague, Samad, when the tiger launched a sudden and brutal ambush at around 6:30 am. The tiger, believed to have strayed from the forest, attacked Gafoor from behind, delivered a lethal bite to the neck and dragged him around 250 metres into the dense forest.
Meanwhile, co-worker Samad managed ...