Tigers face the ire of humans in U.P.’s terai

Tigers face the ire of humans in U.P.’s terai

What has happened?

The Dudhwa-Pilibhit tiger landscape is where the paths of tigers, leopards and humans cross, often with fatal consequences for both sides. Around 180 cases of conflicts leading to human deaths and injuries were recorded here between 2000 and 2018, data from the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), which works with the State Wildlife Department, show.

Of these, 98 pertain to tigers

Tiger Attacks

• Tiger attacks were mostly in forests or on their fringes (54.79%), while (31.5%) were primarily in sugarcane fields
• Only a small proportion (13.7%) were within or near homes.

Lying in wait

• Seasonally, tiger attacks were higher in winter (42.5%) probably due to a high influx of people collecting fuelwood in forests, followed by summers (39.7%).
• Attacks on livestock were the highest, involving leopards and tigers – 45 to 50% – during monsoons.
• A third of tiger attacks occurred when people were in their farms, but the highest (77.8%) of leopard attacks took place when the victims – mostly children – were sleeping, sitting or idle or doing odd jobs or using fields as a toilet.