Causes, Consequences and Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Conflicts Caused by Tiger Straying Incidents in Sundarban, India

• Published in: Proceedings of the Zoological Society 2015-12, Vol.68 (2), p.120-130
• Main Author: Das, Chandan Surabhi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal Anatomy; Animal Genetics and Genomics; Biodiversity; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Conservation Biology/Ecology; Histology; Life Sciences; Morphology; Research Article; Zoology
• ISSN: 0373-5893; 0974-6919
• DOI: 10.1007/s12595-014-0105-8

An increasing number of tigers are leaving natural mangrove habitats and straying into the surrounding villages in the Indian Sundarban. This creates a serious hazard for humans, livestock and tigers. Household surveys in villages adjacent to the mangroves found 237 incidents of tigers straying during 1995–2010. An average of 14 tigers strays into villages per year. Consequences of tigers straying include, villagers killed ( N  = 7) or injured ( N  = 73), tiger predation on livestock ( N  = 242), and villagers killing tigers ( N  = 12). Most (68 %) of tigers leaving the mangroves were male. Of female tigers, most (65 %) had litters and were accompanied by their cubs. Confusing riverside plantations with jungles or confusing paddy fields with wild grasses (31.12 % combined) and predation of domestic livestock (26.96 %) are two main reasons for tigers straying. Tigers may also prefer domestic livestock over wild boar and deer as hunting livestock is easier than hunting natural prey in mangroves. Benefit, cost ratios for human–tiger conflicts were calculated at 0.81–0.92: 1. Appropriate compensation and a strategy of prey population increase might provide solutions to existing problems.