Profiling tigers (Panthera tigris) to formulate management responses to human-killing in the Bangladesh Sundarbans

Abstract

Human-killing by tigers (Panthera tigris) in the Bangladesh Sundarbans may lead to negative attitudes and retribution killings by local communities, which in turn may have a substantial impact on the long-term viability of the tiger population. The objectives of this paper were therefore to (1) assess the scale and historical trend of tiger attacks on humans in the Bangladesh SRF, and (2) build a profile of the tigers carrying out the attacks. We collated available literature cataloging official government records of tiger attacks on humans, and built tiger profiles using the location and time of each attack. A total of 1 396 human deaths were recorded over 63 years, or an average of 22 human deaths/year. An estimated total of 110 tigers killed humans in the SRF over 23 years with a mean five victims/tiger, and most tigers that killed humans were concentrated in the west. An estimated 50% of tigers only killed one person, and tigers that killed more than one person accounted for 81% of total human fatalities. These results support recommendations for the collaring human-killing tigers and the formation of tiger response teams to reduce the number of humans killed by tigers over time.