Brave wife 'fends off' big tiger

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Brave wife 'fends off' big tiger

The tiger population in the region is coming under pressure for space

A woman in Bangladesh armed only with an oar from her rowing boat fended off a Royal Bengal tiger which was attacking her husband, police say.

The lucky escape happened near the Sundarbans mangrove forest in the south-west of the country.

Eighteen-year-old Nazma Akhter and her husband Anwarul Islam, 25, were fishing for shrimp on Sunday in a canal on the fringes of the Sundarbans.

Tigers kill about 20 people a year in Bangladesh, mostly in the Sundarbans.

'Courage'

Police chief ASM Zahid said the tiger bit the man on the knee and was dragging him off into the forest when his wife set about the big cat with her oar.

"This woman is extraordinarily courageous, because she alone fought the tiger and saved her husband," he told the BBC.

"I salute her for her courage."

Mr Zahid said that Ms Akhter kept the tiger at bay for 10 minutes.

Local newspapers reported that such was the beating it received from the paddle that it was forced to beat a retreat into the forest.

Mr Islam is reported to be recovering from minor injuries following the attack.

Police and forest officials said the incident comes after two fatal attacks on women in the Sundarbans area last week.