Gudalur: A 30-year-old tea estate worker was mauled to death by a tiger near Gudalur in hilly Nilgiris District Saturday, triggering panic in the locality, police said.
Mahalakshmi was plucking tea leaves in the estate in Pattavayal, about 90 km from here, when the tiger suddenly pounced on her from a bush, caught her by neck and dragged her for some distance.
As the other estate workers raised an alarm, the carnivore, left her and ran back into the nearby jungle, they said.
However, the woman, who suffered deep injuries inflicted by the tiger's teeth and nails, died on the spot.
The incident in broad daylight has shocked the workers and other residents of the locality.
Forest department officials, who were informed about the incident, suspect that the wild animal could have come from neighbouring Wayanad in Kerala, where a 50-year-old man was killed and consumed by a tiger last week.