Tiger attacks in the Sundarbans

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The Sundarbans are home to approximately 500 Bengal Tigers as of 2004^[1], one of the largest single population of tigers. These tigers are well-known for the substantial number of people they kill; estimates range from 100-250 people per year. They are not the only tigers who live in close proximity to humans. In Bandhavgarh, villages encircle the tiger reserves, and yet attacks on people are rare. However, owing to various measures taken for safety, there is no report of single death since 2004 in Indian portion of the Sundarbans.

A Royal Bengal tiger

The locals and government officials take certain precautions to prevent attacks. Local fishermen will say prayers and perform rituals to the forest goddess, Bonbibi, before setting out on expeditions. Invocations to the tiger god Dakshin Ray (pronounced "DOCK-sin ROY") are also considered a necessity by the local populace for safe passage throughout the Sundarbans area. Fishermen and bushmen make facial masks to wear on the back of their heads, because tigers always attack from behind. This worked for a short time, but the tigers quickly realized it was a hoax, and the attacks continued. Government officials wear stiff pads that rise up the back of the neck, similar to the pads of an American football player. This is to prevent the tigers from biting into the spine, which is their favored attack method.

There are several speculated causes as to why these tigers maul humans:

Since the Sundarbans is located in a coastal area, the water is relatively salty. In all other habitats, tigers drink fresh water. It is rumored that the saltiness of the tiger's water in this area has put them in a state of constant discomfort, leading them to be extremely aggressive. Freshwater lakes have been artificially made but to no avail.
The high tides in the area destroy the tiger's scents which serve as territorial markers. Thus, the only way for a tiger to defend its territory is to physically dominate everything that enters.
Another possibility is that these tigers have grown used to human flesh due to the weather. Cyclones in this part of India and Bangladesh kill thousands, and the bodies drift out in to the swampy waters, where tigers scavenge on them.
Another possibility is that the tigers find hunting animals difficult due to the continuous high and low tides making the area marsh-like and slippery. Humans travel through the Sundarbans on boats gathering honey and fishing, making an easy or accessible prey. It is also believed that when a person stops to work, the tiger mistakes them for an animal, and has, over time, acquired a 'taste' for the human flesh.
It has also been hypothesized that the tigers in this area, due to their secluded habitat, avoided the brunt of the hunting sprees that occurred over the course of the 20th century. Tigers inhabiting the rest of Asia developed a fear of humans after these events, but tigers in the Sundarbans would never have had reason to stop seeing humans as a prey item.

The Bengal tigers of the Sundarbans (translation: 'beautiful forest'), bordering India and Bangladesh, used to regularly kill fifty or sixty people a year. This was strange given that the tigers were usually in prime condition and had adequate prey available. Approximately 600 tigers live in this region, possible the largest single population anywhere in the world.^[2]

About 5,000 people frequent the swamps and waterways of the Sundarbans. Fishing boats traverse the area and many stop so the villages can collect items like firewood or honey. In the dark tangled forest tigers find it easy to stalk and attack a man absorbed in his work. Even fishermen in small boats have been attacked due to the tiger's incredible swimming ability.^[3] However, more often than not, the emboldened tiger, having lost his fear of man, eventually ends up paying the ultimate price. One such tiger had attacked and wounded 3 people in a village in south-west Bangladesh (near the Sundarbans Forest) and frequently preyed upon their livestock. This roused the wrath of the villagers, and the feline became a target for their retribution. Upon sighting it in their neighborhood, the villagers formed a lynch mob of hundreds of people, chased the tiger down, and beat it to death. The feline was an adult male of medium size.^[4]

The kill rate has dropped significantly due to better management techniques and now only about three people lose their lives each year. Even at the rate of fifty or sixty kills per year kills would only provide about 3% of the yearly food requirements for the tiger population of the Sundarbans. Therefore, despite the notoriety associated with this area, humans are only a supplement to the tiger's diet; they do not provide a primary food source.^[5]