Netizens the world over have been stunned by one Maharashtra man’s unlikeliest of escapes when he came face to face with an adult male tiger that had been terrorizing his village in western India.

The unnamed man was forced into the impossible position of playing dead and not moving a muscle as the bengal tiger loomed over him - and even lay down beside him. Hair-raising eyewitness footage of the man’s lucky escape in Binaki village has been shared online.

The tiger was first chased around the field by a group of villagers, before the big cat managed to pin one of the residents down, after which he lay down next to its prey.

People nearby shout and scream at the tiger, and begin pelting it with stones in a desperate attempt to free their friend, at which point the tiger makes good its escape into the nearby forest.

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At least three people were injured in Saturday’s incident, but none are believed to be in life-threatening condition.

“The unfortunate incident is a fallout of lack of strong monitoring and coordination between Maharashtra and MP forest officials," said Sawan Bahekar, President of Gondia's NGO Sustaining Environment and Wildlife Assemblage (SEWA). On January 18, another man was attacked by the tiger just 6km away from Saturday’s attack.

Naturally, many commenters online were in awe of the man’s quick-thinking which allowed him to survive such an extreme situation.

Many expressed sympathy for the tiger, decrying habitat loss and lauding conservation efforts, and calling for more training to keep both humans and animals happy and healthy - and hopefully avoid such dangerous encounters in the future.

we need extensive training and sensitization across the country to educate people how to step back safely and give that space to our wild. will keep both out of harms way. — Raghavendra S (@ragh_twt) January 25, 2020

Elsewhere in India, a 42-year-old woman was killed Friday by a tiger Brahmapuri forest, while a 35-year-old man and his cow were mauled to death in a separate tiger attack in Madhya Pradesh.

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