Banke, March 31 -- Pushpa Tamang, aged 42, sits on the narrow porch of her home in Gabhar settlement in ward 1 of Rapti Sonari Rural Municipality, Banke. A red shawl is wrapped tightly around her head. To a casual observer, she appears healthy, a woman resting in the afternoon sun. But the exterior is a mask for a shattered internal reality.

In June 2019, Pushpa entered Bhawani Community Forest, just a stone's throw from her home, to cut grass for her cattle. Without warning, a Bengal tiger emerged from the undergrowth, striking her from behind. Its claws tore deep gashes into the left side of her scalp. She immediately fell unconscious. Only the desperate screams of her companions forced the big cat to retreat into the shadows of the fo...