If tigers do not have enough prey (due to hunting of prey species by people or poor quality habitat), they will instead hunt domestic livestock – which many local communities depend on for their livelihood.
In retaliation tigers are often killed or captured and sent to a zoo, in an effort to prevent similar events happening in the future. Tigers killed as “conflict” animals often end up for sale in the black market, creating a link between human-tiger conflict and poaching for the
illegal trade in tiger body parts.
Tiger prey species are also killed by villagers in retaliation for destroying essential crops. This further exacerbates the problem by reducing the availability of the tiger’s natural source of food.
In addition, many local communities living around tiger habitats depend on forests for fuelwood, fodder and timber. But by entering forests, they increase the likelihood of tiger attacks – which have increased in recent years. Unsustainable activities within forests also further degrade the habitats of tigers and their prey.
