Bhubaneswar: Displaying extraordinary courage, a 26-year-old farmer fought off a tigress at Kuldiha wildlife sanctuary in Odisha’s Balasore district on Friday.

The farmer, identified as Sunil Singh of Natapada village under Nilagiri block in Balasore, sustained critical injuries in the tigress attack.

As per reports, Sunil’s bullocks strayed into the wildlife sanctuary soon after he completed tilling his farmland in the afternoon.

The tigress attacked Sunil when he entered into the sanctuary in search of his bullocks.

With his bare hands, the young farmer fought with the tigress for quite some time. Hearing his screams, other farmers rushed to the spot and chased away the tigress.

As per reports, Sunil sustained critical injuries on his hands, legs and other parts of his body. The locals rushed him to a hospital at Nilagiri.

He was later referred to Fakir Mohan Medical College and Hospital at Balasore.

Reports, meanwhile, claimed that the tigress, named as Yamuna, had been translocated to Similipal Tiger Reserve in Mayurbhanj district from Tadoba-Andheri Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra in 2024.

The tigress migrated into Kuldiha wildlife sanctuary, which is part of larger Similipal biosphere, around a year ago.