Man-eating tigers have terrified and fascinated people in equal measure throughout India's history. In shikar literature various explanations have been offered for this so-called malady among tigers, and leopards, by erstwhile big-game hunters of the colonial era. Perhaps the most popular among these were the views of legendary hunter and pioneer conservationist Edward James (Jim) Corbett, who blamed injury and, more often, old age for pushing tigers to opt for easier human prey. Other hunters, naturalists and experts have espoused similar views, based mostly on anecdotal evidence.
In August 2012 newspapers reported a tiger killing cattle in farmland and state forests outside the eastern boundary of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve in Karnataka. On 25 August the tiger attacked a woman who was grazing livestock in the vicinity, and partially consumed her. On 26 August Forest Department staff located the tiger, using domestic elephants, and tranquillized and captured it.
Using an extensive photo-database of individual tigers camera-trapped in Karnataka over the past 2 decades, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)–India scientists identified the captured man-eater as tiger NHT-222. This adult male was first camera-trapped on 6 May 2005, when he was 3–4 years old, in the Metikuppe Range of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve. He was subsequently camera trapped several times over 6 years and the last photo capture was on 26 December 2011 during annual camera-trap surveys carried out in collaboration with the Karnataka State Forest Department and the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
Prior to this incident the tiger had been sighted by Forest Department staff in the last week of May 2012, injured, near a waterhole in the Sunkadakatte area. It appears that the tiger, estimated to be 10–12 years old, did not recover from his injuries and was pushed to the fringe of the Reserve, where he may have resorted to whatever prey he found, including livestock, and, unfortunately, a human being. Upon tranquillization it was discovered that the tiger had a serious injury in its right forepaw and that his canines were worn out and broken. This prompted the Karnataka Forest Department to house him in Mysore Zoo. This incident highlights the value of long-term scientific data in facilitating management decisions.
Although the fate of such individual tigers attracts much sympathetic press, this misses the point: NHT-222 is a part of a process of natural loss. Nagarahole has a healthy tiger density of 10–12 individuals per 100 km2. WCS–India's long-term studies show that mortality and dispersal cause on average a 22% annual loss to tiger populations. A stable and breeding tiger population compensates for such annual losses. In relatively secure habitats such as Nagarahole, which is rich in prey, resident females are able to rear successive litters of cubs.
