Video of Bengal tiger chasing man shocks internet

Guwahati, India – An insane video which shows a tiger chasing a man off a cliff in India has shocked the Internet, with many wondering how far tigers can jump and how he possibly survived.

Bengal tigers often way over 700 pounds, and are vicious hunters.
Bengal tigers often way over 700 pounds, and are vicious hunters.  © 123RF/Nico Smit

A now-viral video posted to Twitter shows an incredible and last-minute escape for a man in the Indian city of Guwahati, located in the country's North Eastern Meghalaya region (north of Bangladesh), on November 24.

The 25-second clip shows a man being chased by a Bengal tiger. He is seen screaming and shouting as a group of people run out of the forest, closely followed by the massive creature.

While most are able to reach safety, the clip (shared by The New India Express) showed that one man wasn't able to put enough distance between him and the hungry hunter.

Man makes miraculous escape from Bengal tiger

Seeing as the forest borders what looks like a construction site, the desperate man jumps into a 16-foot hole in the hope of shaking off the tiger.

Shockingly, despite having chased the man off a cliff, the predator has no intention of giving up on his meal. Instead, it jumps in after him, in a frightening moment that saw the two tango while they fall.

Just as everything seemed like it was going to end brutally, the man somehow escapes from the jaws of death and the chasing tiger climbs back out of the pit, disappearing into the forest.

Despite being chased by a tiger, everyone walked away

It seems like a miracle that the hunt ended with only a few injuries for the man in the video. According to the New India Express, several forestry officials rushed to the scene, suspecting that the tiger was either from Kaziranga or Nameri National Park.

"Forest officials rushed to the site to control the situation," wrote New India Express on social media platform Twitter, "after an adult Royal Bengal tiger which strayed out of an Assam forest attacked people, leaving at least two of them injured."

Animal doctors also arrived with tranquilizer darts to catch and remove the wild animal. Kaziranga Field Director P Sivakumar told New India Express that they "Will take a call on the nature of the operation after assessing the field conditions. A tranquilizing team is there. If needed, we will tranquilize it or drive it away."

India's tiger population has dropped to an extreme low in recent years, due to poaching and deforestation. The endangered species has dwindled down to 2,500 tigers living in the wild.

Cover photo: 123RF/alizadastudios

More on Animals: