Research overview: tiger predation impact on prey populations in India

A survey of how tiger predation interacts with ungulate prey in Indian reserves and why prey abundance is the master variable for tiger recovery. Tigers prefer large prey such as sambar, gaur and wild pig, and their density rises with prey biomass, but in well-protected reserves predation rarely depletes healthy prey populations, whereas in degraded landscapes prey depletion from human hunting collapses tigers. This overview synthesizes prey-based density estimation, the proportion of prey production cropped by tigers, and how prey recovery drives tiger recovery. It connects to landmark camera-trap and prey-census studies and to the empty-forest problem. The topic underscores that managing the prey base, more than the predator directly, is the central lever for tiger conservation across the species' range.