Tigers on the prowl

Tigers have killed at least three children and four adults in north India in recent weeks, officials said yesterday, forcing frightened villagers to stay indoors while forest rangers search for the wild cats.

Authorities wielding guns combed villages surrounding the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in the state of Uttar Pradesh, from which seven tigers are believed to have strayed.

One of the tigers is believed to have killed at least four people in the last two weeks, including three children between the ages of 8 and 15.