Blood on their hands: Tiger slaughtered in Assam as forest officials ignore warnings

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaMay 22, 2025

A Royal Bengal Tiger was hacked to death by villagers in Assam’s Golaghat district on Thursday, in an incident that has sparked outrage and exposed glaring failures in the state’s wildlife protection system.

The killing took place in Borbeel, under the Dusutimukh Gaon Panchayat in Khoomtai Revenue Circle. Armed with machetes and sticks, the mob attacked the animal before forest officials could intervene. By the time authorities arrived, the tiger was dead—and mutilated. Key body parts, including its nose, nails, and strips of skin, were missing—believed to have been harvested for illegal trade.

One arrest has been made so far, but the brutality of the act raises deeper questions about the disconnect between communities and conservation efforts.

On May 4, over two weeks before the killing, environment journalist and activist Apurba Ballav Goswami had alerted the Golaghat Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) about the tiger’s presence in the area. The DFO, in turn, informed the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR). But no steps were taken to capture or relocate the animal.

“This tiger didn’t need to die,” Goswami said. “Despite being alerted, KNPTR officials did nothing to rescue it or return it to the forest. Their inaction cost a Schedule I animal its life.”

The tiger’s remains were sent for post-mortem before being cremated. But conservationists say the real damage runs deeper. The incident underscores a systemic failure—where rural communities feel abandoned, fear wild animals, and resort to violence, while forest authorities respond too slowly or not at all.

“This isn’t just a wildlife issue. It’s a humanitarian crisis,” Goswami said. “If trust and quick action don’t replace silence and neglect, this cycle of fear and bloodshed will keep repeating.”

With human settlements pushing deeper into natural habitats, conservationists stress the urgent need for outreach, early response mechanisms, and wildlife education in vulnerable villages.

Otherwise, as this case shows, more tigers may die—not just from poaching, but from a protection system that fails them when it matters most.