14 DAY TRIAL // The rate of tiger attacks on humans in India has increased several times over the past few years, since the effects of global warming began to take their toll on the animals' natural habitat. Rising sea water levels severely decimate the mangrove forests in India's Sundarban region, which comprises of thick swamps and marshes, crisscrossed by islands and water channels.
In that habitat, a large population of tigers lives inside a national protected park. Because some islands have already sunk and others are almost entirely covered by waters, the areas in which the tigers used to hunt are constantly shrinking. Furthermore, the prey that constituted the tigers' main course – crocodiles, fish and some crabs – is dwindling because of the salty waters that enter the region each day. Less food for increasing tiger populations means that the animals have to get out there and find alternative food sources.
Unfortunately for nine fishermen in the area, they turned out to be the tigers' next logical choice. The hungry animals began scavenging the villages for any spare food they could find, including humans, birds and pigs. The locals complained about these events, but there's not much anyone could do, seeing how the animals are protected by national law. Throughout the world, big feline populations are in a severe decline and international support for preserving these species is overwhelming.
The Indian Statistical Institute says that the number of tigers in the region could be anywhere between 75 and 250. The Sundarban area is internationally recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and therefore, all poaching is strictly prohibited. However, even last month, a tiger was killed by illegal hunters. The deterioration of the mangroves, whose thick leaves have protected the felines from poachers for decades, now exposes much of the area, with a huge portion of their canopy turning into nothing more than dried twigs, because of salty sea water.
As a result of the low feeding possibilities in the area, "The tendency to seek alternate prey in the form of livestock – and sometimes humans – might be higher in these tigers," concluded Ullas Karanth, member of the Wildlife Conservation Society India.