Characterizing human-tiger conflict in Sumatra, Indonesia: implications for conservation

Nyhus and Tilson analysed records of human-tiger conflict around Sumatran protected areas, characterising attacks on people and livestock and the killing of tigers. They linked conflict to habitat conversion, prey loss, and the expansion of plantations and settlement into tiger range, identifying spatial and temporal patterns useful for targeting prevention. The study highlighted how development frontiers concentrate conflict and how tiger killing, partly conflict-driven and partly for trade, threatens an endangered subspecies. The authors recommended integrating conflict mitigation into land-use planning and protected-area management. The work is a frequently cited example of using incident data to inform conservation strategy in a rapidly transforming landscape.