Research overview: individual specialisation and the development of man-eating behaviour

This overview synthesises research on how individual big cats develop man-eating behaviour, integrating evidence from Tsavo lions, Sundarbans and Champawat tigers, and Indian leopards. It reviews the leading explanations, physical impairment from injury, age, or dental disease; natural-prey scarcity; learned exploitation of vulnerable humans; and possible social transmission, and emphasises that man-eating typically arises in particular individuals under particular circumstances rather than as a species trait. The literature discusses the implications for management: identifying and removing specific offenders versus addressing underlying ecological drivers. The survey frames individual specialisation as the unifying theme across famous man-eating cases, reconciling competing hypotheses by recognising that multiple factors can converge in single conflict-prone animals.