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Annual Human Injuries and Deaths From Tiger Attacks Rose From 4.6 to 11.4 Around Chitwan–Parsa

Wild tiger running through water in Chitwan National Park, Nepal
Conservation · Human–wildlife conflict

A ten-year study of human–tiger conflict around Chitwan and Parsa National Parks in Nepal recorded 80 human injuries and deaths from attacks by tiger (Panthera tigris) between 2014/15 and 2023/24. Published in Ecology and Evolution on 15 July 2026, the study examined changes through time, where incidents were concentrated, circumstances surrounding attacks and which mitigation measures local communities preferred.

The researchers used official records together with semi-structured interviews with survivors or household representatives. These interviews followed a common incident form but allowed follow-up questions when relevant. Information about the attacking tiger’s age class or injury status came from survivors, witnesses or capture teams when this was known, rather than from a standardised biological examination of every tiger. Fatalities and non-fatal injuries occurred in nearly equal proportions. More than three-quarters of the people attacked were men, which the authors mainly link to greater male participation in forest-related activities such as collecting resources, herding livestock and responding to conflict situations.

Recorded casualties increased and clustered in hotspots

Recorded casualties increased during the decade. The average annual number rose from 4.6 cases during 2014/15–2018/19 to 11.4 during 2019/20–2023/24. The researchers also found a positive association between tiger population estimates and human casualties, but they explicitly describe this relationship as associative rather than causal because settlement expansion, dependence on forest resources and growth in buffer-zone populations may also contribute.

Most recorded incidents occurred in the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park. Hotspot mapping identified Budhirapti Buffer Zone User Committee, Madi Valley and adjoining areas as major conflict zones. Incidents were more frequent during the monsoon and spring seasons, and people who entered tiger habitat alone were more vulnerable than those travelling in groups.

According to the study, most attacks involved older, injured or subadult tigers. The researchers also examined local views on ways to reduce conflict. Awareness and training ranked as the most preferred measures, while communities generally retained positive attitudes towards tiger conservation despite the risks.

The authors recommend focusing mitigation on known hotspots and on people whose daily activities bring them into forests. Their proposed measures include awareness and training, stronger physical barriers, management of individual problem tigers and further testing of rear-facing masks—masks worn on the back of the head to make a tiger approaching from behind appear to have been seen—as a possible deterrent. The study presents these measures as ways to improve human safety while maintaining support for tiger conservation in a landscape where both tiger numbers and human use of surrounding forests have increased.

Sources and image credit

  1. Shrestha et al. (2026), Ecology and Evolution — Human–Tiger Conflict in and Around Chitwan–Parsa National Parks: Status, Trends, Contributing Factors, Mitigation Strategies, and Community PerceptionsPrimary peer-reviewed open-access study, first published 15 July 2026. Recorded 80 human casualty cases from tiger attacks during 2014/15–2023/24 around Chitwan and Parsa National Parks; average annual casualties rose from 4.6 to 11.4 between the two five-year periods. The authors explicitly describe the association between tiger population estimates and casualties as associative rather than causal.
  2. PubMed — Human-Tiger Conflict in and Around Chitwan-Parsa National ParksBibliographic record confirming publication on 15 July 2026.

Image: Gurung pratap — wild tiger running through water in Chitwan National Park, Nepal; Wikimedia Commons; representative image from the study landscape · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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