Indian mother fights tiger to save son

A woman in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has suffered serious injuries while fighting off a tiger to save her 15-month-old son.

Archana Choudhary, the mother, grappled with the tiger with her bare hands for a couple of minutes before villagers heard her cries for help and intervened, BBC reports.

The attack took place on Sunday on the outskirts of the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve.

Both mother and son are receiving treatment in hospital.

The Times of India reported that the tiger had sunk its teeth into the baby’s head and was trying to pull the child away when the mother intervened and attempted to fight off the tiger. Her screams for help attracted villagers from nearby areas who reached the spot with sticks and drove away the tiger.

Animal attacks on people living around the tiger reserve aren’t uncommon. Villagers said that apart from tigers, elephants have also been entering their villages and damaging their crops.