Foresters in the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve on Thursday felicitated 39 residents of a remote village at Gosaba in South 24-Parganas on the occasion of International Tiger Day for their bravery in driving away a big cat without harming the animal in April this year.

The foresters said the villagers had set an example at a time when people habitually turned violent against the wild animals in retaliation for attacks on humans in remote pockets of the mangroves.

“The 39 villagers became an example in the conservation of tigers going beyond the man-animal conflict as they saved the tiger. We thought their bravery should be rewarded and so we felicitated them,” said Jones Justin, the deputy field director of STR.

On the morning of April 9, a few residents of Lahiripur village in Gosaba discovered a fresh pugmark on the soft earth on the riverbank that led towards the nearby jungle.

Sources said soon villagers came up with their weapons to find the tiger. The team of 39 instead set up a human chain before their habitat and started shouting so that the tiger couldn’t come towards them. Meanwhile, the residents informed the forest office.

“There were only a few foresters, who were not enough to drive away a tiger. The villagers aged between 30-40 years assured us that they would help us drive away the tiger ,” said a forest official.

The foresters first put up a net to save the human habitat from the tiger.

“These 39 villagers showed their bravery as they agreed to follow the pugmark with us. We needed people as we had to shout in a high decibel to drive away the animal. It was not easy to take part in such a drive but the villagers did it. After an effort of a few hours, we became successful as the tiger swam into the river,” said a forester.

The villagers said that they took the challenge to save the tiger as they knew that attacking the big cat wouldn’t solve their problem. “As we know there are tigers in our neighbouring forests, so it is our duty to save them. We are happy as the department had felicitated us,” said Nitish Mondal, a 35 year old farmer from Lahiripur area, who along with 38 others were felicitated.