An Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer has shared a heart-stopping video of a farmer's close encounter with a tiger in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit. Parveen Kaswan posted the 42-second clip on X, writing, "A farmer and a tiger encounter."
In the short clip, the farmer is seen sitting on his bike, while another man stands beside him, unaware of the tiger lurking a few steps away. The tiger steps out of the tall grass, prowling and making its way towards the two men. The farmer spots the approaching danger and instinctively turns his motorcycle the other way, seemingly preparing to flee in case the tiger chases them. But what happened next was surprising-the tiger stopped in its tracks and lazily laid down, settling down calmly instead of pursuing them.
"This is what coexistence looks like. From Pilibhit," Mr Kaswan wrote as the caption.
The video has since gone viral with people sharing their thoughts on the remarkable interaction.
A user commented, "Luckily this went well. Won't happen so each time. Co-existence works best while respecting certain boundaries and allowing adequate means for sustenance."
Another wrote, "So near yet so far - it seems the Tiger is familiar with the farmers otherwise a Charge from the Tiger would have certainly been there."
Someone pointed out, "If you notice it tries to stay hidden near the periphery until the farmer starts to turn and move his bike away. Once he turned it came out in the open."
Earlier, Parveen Kaswan highlighted the dangers of provoking wild animals, particularly elephants. He shared a video of a man taunting an elephant, which initially walked calmly but charged after being provoked.
Mr Kaswan explained that such harassment caused long-lasting stress to animals and could lead to dangerous human-animal conflicts. He urged people to avoid provoking wildlife for amusement.
