India is the home of the tiger. It has the highest concentration of tiger population in the world. For centuries, this beast has been a part of folklore. Currently this species has declined and a hundred thousand tigers of yore have been reduced to a few thousand now. Upon awakening, the wildlife foundation and the Indian government declared it a protected species and created tiger reserves so that the tiger can live and thrive in its natural habitat. Next to the lion, the tiger of the big cats inspires admiration and respect. It is a carnivorous beast that thrives on wild deer, deer, and wild pigs as its prey. A fully grown tiger is a menacing beast and, if confronted or antagonized, can be a formidable opponent.

Jim Corbett, the famous hunter, made the tiger a part of literature with his book “Man Eating Tiger of Rudraprayag”. This is a true story and the tiger in this case had killed over a hundred human beings. After reading it one might be tempted to wonder if the tiger is by nature a man-eater. Do you like human flesh?

Tigers as a species generally avoid humans. There are no cases of a tiger living on human flesh since infancy. But again in India it is recorded that thousands of people have been killed and eaten by tigers. Some put the figures as close to 300,000. But this is better an estimate. However, there is no doubt that a large number of Indian villagers have fallen victim to the tiger.

A tiger will turn to humans for prey only if they are incapacitated in some way. There are cases of tigers that grew old or injured and resorted to attacking and killing humans. Once a tiger is unable to catch its natural prey, Darwin’s theory comes into play. The tiger to survive becomes a man-eater and feeds on humans. In such a scenario, the tiger always attacks individual human beings and generally avoids a group moving together. Weighing 400 to 500 pounds, the tiger can easily overpower a human. His modus operandi is usually to jump on the man from behind and grab him by the neck. If necessary, it will track the man for some time and attack only at the right moment. That just goes to show that man-eaters are cunning animals. Man-eating tigers have been found to be generally incapacitated after they have been killed.

Aside from being a cunning animal, the tiger also appears to have a sixth sense that alerts it when an armed human is approaching. In that case, he will sneak deeper into the forest or a cave and bide his time. This characteristic of the tiger is well documented in the old British movie ‘Harry Black and the Tiger’ with IS Johar, the Indian actor, as the tiger tracker.

Another reason why the tiger becomes a man-eater is the pressure on its natural habitat. With India’s growing population and land scarcity, villagers have been encroaching on the tiger’s natural habitat. This results in a shortage of game for the tiger, and perforce a healthy tiger might attack a human for survival. Once the tiger finds it easy to kill a human, it is likely to go on a man-eating spree. In that case, he becomes a dangerous animal as he is fit and can give any hunter a run for their money. While hunting a human as prey, the tiger follows all the principles of war. Therefore, lure, stealth, surprise, and speed are essential ingredients of a tiger’s action.

There are even cases where the tiger tricks the hunter and attacks him. There are many cases of tigers that thrived for years as man-eaters. Of all the tigers in India, the ones that inhabit the Sunder Bans in Bengal are unique. This area is muddy and knee-deep in water in many places, yet the tiger survives in that environment.

There are cases where these tigers sneak up and take humans away, even if they are in a boat.

Jim Corbett has the distinction of killing the maximum number of man-eating tigers.

Once a tiger is confirmed to be a man-eater, the district judge will issue a notice and order the hunters to shoot the tiger. The tiger can be tracked from its pug markings and for this a tiger tracker is a must. The number of men’s canteens has now decreased. This is natural as the tiger population has drastically decreased.