Tiger attacks on humans

The reason for the attack may be that people sometimes go to tiger territories, as a result of which the tiger begins to seem that this is its natural prey. Tigers also attack livestock and dogs. Cannibal tigers always hunt alone and never gather in a group (as lions do on hunting).

Tigers who have been injured or have become very old are looking for prey that is easy to kill. Hunting a man for a tiger takes little time, and it takes less effort. Such tigers, as a rule, are quickly eliminated, but among them there are those who kill people for months, and sometimes for years.

Young and healthy tigers rarely attack humans, but there are none. Killing them is very difficult. Moreover, tigers do not always eat their victims, but can simply kill them. The number of people killed by them amounts to hundreds and even thousands ^[3] . There is also an assumption that the tiger, who accidentally tried the human, gets used to it and can no longer eat people. So, for example, during the Second World War and the Vietnam War, the bodies of many killed soldiers lay in the fields for a long time. Tigers ate these bodies and became dependent on the taste of humanity ^[4] .

There are no reports on tiger attacks on humans, and therefore the extent of this phenomenon can only be estimated based on the books of famous naturalists, hunters, and Internet data. In the natural habitat of tigers, in the territory of Southeast Asia, the most similar victims. However, tiger attacks in European countries and the United States are also not uncommon.

Cases

It is estimated that in the United States from 1990 to 2014 there were 748 incidents involving tiger attacks on humans. As a result of these attacks, 23 people were killed and several hundred people were injured. Tigers attack zoo employees, trainers, visitors to zoos and circuses , tourists ^[5] . People often provoke tigers to attack themselves, especially when they are at the zoo. They tease them, throw stones at them, try to touch and get into the cage. Some cases:

• From 1907 to 1938, tigers and leopards constantly attacked people. A total of 33 individuals terrorized the inhabitants of India and Nepal ^[6] . One of the most bloodthirsty predators of the time is the Champavat tiger - the Bengal tiger , which, according to researchers, has accounted for 436 murders. She killed about 200 people in Nepal. When the government mobilized an entire army against it, the tigress, as if sensing this, hid in the Indian region of Kumaon , where she killed more than 200 people. She committed her killings before the famous hunter Jim Corbett shot her in 1907 .
• In 2014 , at a zoo in China, 27-year-old Yang Jinhai said he could not see how Bengal tigers were torn from their natural environment and could not hunt, as they should in nature. He said that he was ready to sacrifice himself for their comfort, and he climbed into the cage to the tigers. But the zoo staff quickly pulled it back ^[5] .
• In April 2016, at the Palm Beach Zoo, 38-year-old Stacy Convizer was the victim of the attack. She was killed by a 13-year-old male tiger in an aviary that is not visible to the public, Zoo spokeswoman Naki Carter said. The tiger was euthanized (but not killed), and only when sleeping pills came into force, the police were able to enter the aviary ^[7] .
• In April of that year, two schoolgirls entered the Barnaul zoo "Forest Fairy Tale". It was evening, the zoo was closed, but the girls wanted to take a selfie with a tiger ^[8] . One of them crawled into a cage and was easily injured by a tiger. She was saved and hospitalized. According to some reports, both girls were drunk ^[9] .

Background

Attacks of tigers on people in Primorye and Amur region were quite common. At the same time, the Amur leopard never appeared in Russian reports about an attack on humans, although in India both tigers and leopards attack people ^[10] .

The indigenous population of the Ussuri Territory, consisting of golds and orcs, for the most part did not have firearms, and, moreover, did not seek to kill tigers, venerating them as sacred animals. The famous explorer of the Russian Far East V.K. Arsenyev wrote that his Nanaian guide Dersu Uzala was afraid of tigers and even bowed to the tiger ("Amba"), as before a god. The Udege also not only feared the tigers, but also deified them, tried in every way to appease them, in their prayers they asked the tigers to spare them, respectfully gave way to them ^[11] . In Yakut folklore , the legend that on p. Yudoma “unknown beast”, attacking people, killed a ten-year-old boy, but then he was killed by his father himself ^[12] . The Tungus instead of the direct designation of the tiger ("tasch") use the euphemism " amba ", which means great , huge , big . This word also designates evil spirits in general ^[13] .

The Manza also often abandoned their farms after tigers began to visit them. In the Russian-dependent Manchuria, at the first stage of the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway, tigers got into the habit of killing and carrying away workers, but then special measures were taken by the Russian administration. The arrival of the Cossacks and more than 20 thousand peasant migrants quickly reduced tiger aggression to zero. In the 1920s, tiger attacks on humans almost stopped, but their population decreased to 30–40 individuals ^[2] . However, the ban on shooting tigers led to an increase in their numbers to more than 500 individuals by 2016. As a result, the number of attacks on people has increased. From 1996 to 2017, three cases of the appearance of cannibal tigers were recorded in the Khabarovsk Territory, that is, with the facts of relapse . Tigers suspected of cannibalism are being caught and sent to the Utes rehabilitation center for veterinary examination. The further fate of the cannibals is decided by Rosprirodnadzor ^[11] . If the fact of eating a killed person is confirmed, then the attacking tiger is usually shot. People are usually attacked by old, sick, toothless, partially paralyzed individuals, as well as young animals who have not yet learned to hunt. Tigers are much more attracted to livestock and dogs, therefore, clashes with people often occur when they are trying to protect pets from tiger attacks.

Statistics

According to materials collected from 1970 to 2001, tigers in Russia attacked people on average 1.4 times a year, while the mortality rate in these collisions was less - 0.4 people. in year. The difference in the number of people killed by tigers in provoked (24.4%) and unprovoked attacks remains statistically significant (35.5%). Males attack humans about twice as often as females.

Precautionary measures

The Administration of Primorye periodically publishes the brochure "Rules of conduct for people and keeping pets in tiger habitats in the territory of the Primorsky Territory." It is strictly forbidden to run away from the tiger or turn your back to it, an attempt to climb a tree is also usually useless, because when you see a tiger, a person does not have time to search for a tree that is suitable in height (up to 3 meters in height, the tiger can climb itself) and climb him. It is necessary to leave the tiger only slowly backing away. Moving through the woods, on the contrary, it is recommended to talk loudly, to rattle, to rattle the trunks with a stick, and to put on a mask or hat on your back to scare away the predator. It is recommended to avoid being in the forest alone and without weapons at dusk and at night, when tigers are actively looking for prey.

Several documentaries have been filmed about tiger attacks on humans.

• “The last eater. The Indian Tiger Killer ” (documentary by Oksana Borovik, USA, 2003).
• The Pozharsky Cannibal Tiger (Sasha Snow documentary, Great Britain-Russia, 2004).
• “The grin of selfless love. The Tiger Eater ” (documentary television movie of Roman Gazenko , Russia, 2006).
• “Tigers and Leopards” (Adam Mullins documentary from the cycle “ Cannibals ”, Canada, 2010).
• “The Hungry Tigers” (a documentary by Sarita Wilkinson, from the series “ In Search of the Eater ”, USA, 2011).
• “Cannibal Tigers” (Amanda Abel’s documentary from Richard Terry’s series Man Against the Monster , USA, 2012).

• Eugene Efreshin. Tiger: thunderstorm of the jungle (neopr.) . The Anthill Magazine 2000 - 5.