The Man-Eating Tigers of Sunderbans : The reasons behind

500 Bengal tigers roar across the dense, swampy forests of Sunderbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world. Every year, around 50 people are devoured by the man-eating tigers of Sunderbans. Only half of them survive to narrate their spine chilling tales. None of the villagers like to speak and hear about tigers in Sunderbans. Almost every village has suffered a loss of one of their members at the hands of the ferocious Sunderban tiger.

Under the normal circumstances, humans are never part of the normal prey base of tigers. Tigers may hunt humans when they are injured or old. However, this is not the case with Sunderbans tigers. Sunderbans tigers are born man-eaters. They hunt down villagers who visit the jungles for fishing or honey collection. For many years, scientists and naturalists have been bewildered by this unique trait of Sunderbans tigers. After years of research and intensive studies, a few hypotheses have been stated by them explaining the man-eating tendencies of these tigers.

The location of the mangrove forest in the coastal area forces the tigers here to drink salt laden water. This could be one of the factors responsible for the aggressive behaviour of these tigers. 

The region of Sunderbans is subjected to natural calamities like cyclones. Every year, many people die due to cyclones and their bodies get washed into the tiger territories. Feeding on these carcasses could result in rendering the tigers used to human flesh.

Tigers of Sunderbans were never attacked or hunted by humans due to the inaccessible terrain unlike the other tiger inhabited forests of India. This could be another reason why the Sunderban tigers never learnt to fear humans.

The urine and scat of tigers are usually washed away by tidal waves and hence the only territorial defence left for these tigers is their physical aggression.

These are some of the factors that are believed to be responsible for the man-eating nature of Sunderbans tigers.

In spite of their nature, these tigers are still revered by the villagers of Sunderbans. Despite losing their own members in the jaws of these magnificent beasts, the tigers are considered guardians of the Sunderbans forests. No one dares venture into these treacherous forests for fear of man-eaters. The forest trees protect the villages from lashing waves and cyclones. Forests also provide them honey and other forest produce for their survival. The tigers are responsible for keeping the ecosystem in perfect balance. Loss of tigers will disrupt the entire ecosystem and livelihood of these poor people.

Hence, man-eaters of Sunderbans are not hated. They are feared and respected and continue to fascinate explorers, scientists and naturalists all over the world.