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Tiger attacks are an extreme form of human–wildlife conflict which occur for various reasons and have claimed more human lives than attacks by any of the other big cats. The most comprehensive study of deaths due to tiger attacks estimates that at least 373,000 people died due to tiger attacks between 1800 and 2009, the majority of these attacks occurring in South and Southeast Asia. In Southeast Asia, attacks gradually declined after peaking in the nineteenth century, but attacks in South Asia have remained high, particularly in the Sundarbans.〔 ==Reasons for attacking== If a human comes too close and surprises a sleeping or a feeding tiger (particularly if it is a tigress with cubs), the tiger may attack and kill a human. Tigers can also attack humans in a case of "mistaken identity" (for example, if a human is crouching while collecting firewood, or cutting grass) and sometimes when a tourist gets too close. Some also recommend not riding a bicycle, or running in a region where tigers live in order to not provoke their chase. Peter Byrne wrote about an Indian postman who was working on foot for many years without any problems with resident tigers, but was chased by a tiger soon after he started riding a bicycle for his work.〔Byrne, Peter. (2002) Shikari Sahib. Pilgrims Publishing. Pg. 291–292〕 In some cases tigers will change their natural diet to become man-eaters. This is usually due to a tiger being incapacitated by a gunshot wound or porcupine quills, or some other factors, such as health issues and disabilities. In such cases, the animal's inability to take traditional prey forces it to stalk humans, which are less appetizing but much easier to chase, overpower and kill; this was the case with the infamous man-eating tigress of Champawat, which was believed to have begun eating villagers at least partially in response to crippling tooth injuries. As tigers in Asia often live in close proximity to humans, tigers have killed more people than any other big cat. Between 1876 and 1912, tigers killed 33,247 people in British India.〔Compiled from official British records available at the (Digital South Asia Library ) (University of Chicago and the Center for Research Libraries). 1. "(Number of persons and cattle killed in British India by wild beasts and snakes )", ''Statistical abstract relating to British India from 1867–68 to 1876–77'', (London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office): p. 132, 1878, retrieved 30 March 2013. 2. "(Number of persons and cattle killed in British India by wild beasts and snakes )", ''Statistical abstract relating to British India from 1876–77 to 1885–86'', (London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office): p. 240, 1887, retrieved 30 March 2013. 3. "(Number of persons and cattle killed in British India by wild beasts and snakes )", ''Statistical abstract relating to British India from 1885–86 to 1894–95'', (London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office): p. 268, 1896, retrieved 30 March 2013. 4. "(Number of persons and cattle killed in British India by wild animals and snakes )", ''Statistical abstract relating to British India from 1894–95 to 1903–04'', (London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office): p. 238, 1905, retrieved 30 March 2013. 5. "(Number of persons and cattle killed in British India by wild animals and snakes )", ''Statistical abstract relating to British India from 1903–04 to 1912–13'', (London: His Majesty's Stationery Office): p. 240, 1915, retrieved 30 March 2013.〕 Man-eaters have been a recurrent problem for India, especially in Kumaon, Garhwal and the Sundarbans mangrove swamps of Bengal. There, some healthy tigers have been known to hunt humans. Even though tigers usually avoid elephants, they have been known to jump on an elephant's back and severely injure the mahout riding on the elephant's back. Kesri Singh mentioned a case when a fatally wounded tiger attacked and killed the hunter who wounded it while the hunter was on the back of an elephant. Most man-eating tigers are eventually captured, shot or poisoned.〔Singh, Kesri. (1959) The tiger of Rajasthan. Hale〕 During war, tigers may acquire a taste for human flesh from the consumption of corpses which have lain unburied, and go on to attack soldiers; this happened during the Vietnam and Second World Wars.〔 Tigers will stalk groups of people bending down while working in a field or cutting grass, but will lose interest as soon as the people stand upright. Consequently, it has been hypothesized that some attacks are a simple case of mistaken identity.〔 Tigers typically surprise victims from the side or from behind: either approaching upwind or lying in wait downwind. Tigers rarely press an attack if they are seen before their ambush is mounted. Kenneth Anderson once commented on man-eating tigers; Tigers are sometimes intimidated from attacking humans, especially if they are unfamiliar with people. Unlike man-eating leopards, even established man-eating tigers will seldom enter human settlements, usually sticking to village outskirts.〔(Man-eaters. The tiger and lion, attacks on humans )〕 Nevertheless, attacks in human villages do occur.〔(Increasing tiger attacks trigger panic around Tadoba-Andhari reserve )〕 Most tigers will only attack a human if they cannot physically satisfy their needs otherwise. Tigers are typically wary of humans and usually show no preference for human meat. Although humans are relatively easy prey, they are not a desired source of food. Thus, most man-eating tigers are old, infirm, or have missing teeth, and choose human victims out of desperation. In one case, a post-mortem examination of a killed tigress revealed two broken canine teeth, four missing incisors and a loose upper molar, handicaps which would make capturing stronger prey extremely difficult. Only upon reaching this stage did she attack a workman.〔 In some cases, rather than being predatory, tiger attacks on humans seem to be territorial in nature. In at least one case, a tigress with cubs killed eight people entering her territory without consuming them at all. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tiger attack」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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