Sanctuary Asia — January 2018

Sanctuary Sanctuary || Conservation ActionConservation Action

Tigers, except when wounded

or when man-eaters, are on the whole

very good-tempered.”

~ Jim Corbett

Over the past few years, India has

witnessed a surge in the frequency

of human-wildlife confl ict in its varied

dimensions. Attacks on humans by

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large carnivores inevitably garner the

most attention and Forest Department

offi cials are often pressurised into

a frenzy of reaction by the public

and local politicians. When attempts

to address a confl ict situation are

unsuccessful, they can culminate in

acts of violence and outrage by the

public – almost always directed at the

Forest Department. Many a time the

confl ict animal is also cornered, killed

and mutilated.

An increase in cases that ‘go awry’

has a detrimental impact on a species’

survival prospects in the long run.

When the species involved is a national

icon like the tiger, things get even

more complex.

Media sensationalism, public panic, political pressure, muddled thinking – at a time of increased confl ict

between humans and large carnivores, these interconnected strands have woven a narrative that

depicts virtually every tiger that kills a human as a bloodthirsty man-eater. While underscoring how such

attitudes are harming the larger cause of tiger conservation in India, Dr. Mayukh Chatterjee explores

the complexities of man-eating and man-killing behaviour.