Research overview: prey depletion as a driver of tiger livestock depredation and attacks

This overview synthesises evidence that depletion of wild ungulate prey, through poaching, the bushmeat trade, and habitat loss, drives tigers toward livestock and, in extreme cases, people. It reviews studies across India, Nepal, and Southeast Asia linking low natural prey density to higher depredation and conflict mortality, and the reinforcing cycle in which prey loss elevates conflict, which elevates tiger killing. The literature argues that restoring prey populations is a foundational, often underappreciated, conflict-mitigation strategy alongside husbandry and compensation. The survey frames empty-forest syndrome as both a conservation and a conflict problem, connecting ungulate recovery to safer coexistence with tigers.