Wayanad: " Out of nowhere, the tiger leapt across the road and brushed past my two-wheeler. If I hadn`t applied the brakes, I would not have been alive," Vazhayil Aneesh, 37, a native of Anpatharu near Pulpalli, who had a close shave with the tiger on Sunday said with a quiver.
Occasionally tigers are spotted in the area, but Aneesh had no inkling that he would come face to face with one. He was returning home after purchasing medicines for his daughter. The path was familiar to him. From the bituminous road, the path takes a turn and winds along the farmlands.
" All of a sudden a huge animal jumped across the road and almost scraped the front of the bike. I froze in horror, but somehow I applied the brakes," he said. The two-wheeler skidded off the surface and Aneesh fell down sustaining minor injuries. He was admitted to the hospital for a day. Though he survived with mild injuries, Aneesh is still in shock.
" I am afraid to go out on bike even during the day time and at each turn of the road I feel a tiger is lurking," he said. Vazhayil Jose, father of Aneesh said the same tiger was spotted in the same area towards 10 am on Monday. " Though the Forest Department personnel had fixed the cage traps in the surrounding farmland to capture the animal, the tiger is still at large," said Vazhayil Jose.
