A protest erupted over the death of a coffee plantation worker who was killed by a tiger in India.

Radha, 47, was harvesting coffee beans when the wild cat fatally mauled her in Wayanad, Kerala, on Friday morning, January 24.

Forest officials discovered the brutally killed body during their routine patrols.

The day prior to the attack, Kerala Forest Minister AK Saseendran had assured the state parliament that measures were being taken to address human-animal conflicts in the area.

Outraged locals, many of whom worked on nearby estates, gathered at the scene to demand action and seek justice for Radha's family. They refused to allow her body to be moved for a postmortem until their concerns were addressed.

Minister for the Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Classes, OR Kelu, visited the protestors to listen to their concerns. He reassured the community that efforts would be made to locate the tiger responsible for the violent attack.

Female estate workers called for the tiger to be captured or euthanized to ensure community safety.

The Chief Wildlife Warden was expected to issue an order for the tiger's shooting, a decision later confirmed by Minister Saseendran.

If the tiger is confirmed to be a man-eater, officials will attempt to capture it using tranquilizers or traps in line with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) outlined in the Central Wildlife Protection Act.

Shooting the tiger will only be considered a last resort if these methods fail.

The Minister has instructed officials to maintain heightened vigilance in the area of the attack, as well as in the surrounding forests and the wider Wayanad region.

Given the potential movement of wild animals, including tigers and elephants, from the Bandipur region in neighboring Karnataka, rapid response teams have been deployed, and patrolling efforts will be increased.

India is home to over 70 per cent of the world's tigers. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) estimated that India's tiger population stood at 3,682 in July 2023.

Tigers are classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.