A tigress pounced on a man in a Bandhavgarh forest in Madhya Pradesh, but in his near-death ordeal, help came from an unexpected source — his buffaloes, who charged at the big cat and drove it away, the survivor said on Thursday.The tigress attacked Ramnaresh Singh in the Panpatha core area of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve on Wednesday when he was searching for his cattle, BTR field director Anupam Sahay said.The 36-year-old man, while searching for his two buffaloes, came face-to-face with a tigress that was roaming with her cub.The tigress attacked Singh, injuring his hand. But before it could drag him away, the buffaloes rushed towards him and drove the tigress back into the forest, he told reporters.The frightened man was unable to recount details immediately. After receiving treatment through the night, he felt better and narrated the incident.”My buffaloes saved me. If they had not been there, I would not have survived,” Singh stated.He said the tigress had grabbed him and he feared it would drag him away. “I thought my life was over. The tigress would have dragged me away if the buffaloes had not saved me,” he added.His companions later found him below a slope in the forest, bandaged his injured hand and helped stop the bleeding. Forest personnel later took him to the hospital.”Singh was immediately admitted to the government hospital in Manpur. His condition is normal,” Sahay said.The forest department provided Singh with immediate assistance of Rs 3,000, he added.Monitoring in the area has been stepped up following the incident.