Research overview: the ecology of man-eating and aberrant tiger behavior

Attacks on humans by tigers, though rare relative to encounters, have a long and consequential history. This overview synthesizes what ecological research suggests about the circumstances that lead a small number of tigers to prey on or attack people, including injury, old age, tooth and claw damage, prey scarcity, and the high frequency of human presence in some landscapes such as the Sundarbans. It reviews how most tigers avoid people and how aberrant behavior is the exception rather than the rule, while acknowledging the serious local impact of the cases that occur. The synthesis frames human-tiger conflict in ecological context rather than myth. For enthusiasts it explains why some individuals turn to unusual prey, why context and condition matter, and why understanding these factors is essential to managing the rare but high-stakes overlap between tigers and people.