Top 10 national parks in terms of maneating tigers within India

A list of top 10 national parks in terms of no of maneating tigers and no of incidents.

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Key Points

• The Sundarbans and Pilibhit have the highest rates of regular confirmed man-eater incidents, followed by Tadoba, Corbett, and Ranthambore.

• Modern incidents typically involve elderly or injured tigers, prey base decline, or high human encroachment, with animals sometimes tranquilized or killed following attacks to prevent recurring man-eater behavior.

• Underreporting is a significant issue in many regions due to the illegality of forest work and inadequate compensation mechanisms.

India’s top national parks with the most prominent history and current issues of man-eating tigers are primarily those with large tiger populations and proximity to human settlements, leading to frequent human-tiger conflict and reported cases of tigers attacking or consuming people. Below is a ranked list based on recent incidents, historical infamous man-eaters, and documented conflict rates:

Top 10 National Parks and Tiger Reserves in terms of maneaters and maneating incidents :

1. Sundarbans National Park (West Bengal)

   • Notoriously high number of fatal attacks, with annual deaths documented for decades due to tigers regularly entering villages or preying on woodcutters and fishermen.

2. Jim Corbett National Park (Uttarakhand)

   • Historical legacy of famous man-eating tigers, frequent conflicts persist with surrounding human habitations.

3. Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (Uttar Pradesh)

   • Recent spike in attacks; several cases in 2025, with tigers from forest fringes routinely entering sugarcane fields and villages.

4. Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra)

   • Reports of dozens of human deaths annually in recent years, especially in buffer zones with high tiger density and inadequate prey.

5. Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh)

   • High tiger population density; instances of tigers attacking humans attributed to territorial disputes and habitat encroachment.

6. Dudhwa National Park (Uttar Pradesh)

   • Recorded several documented incidents of tiger attacks going back to the late 20th century, including infamous cases like Tara.

7. Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (Rajasthan)

   • Famous for man-tiger conflict caused by overpopulation and shrinking prey base, resulting in tigers straying into human areas; attacks noted in recent years.

8. Kanha National Park (Madhya Pradesh)

   • Human fatalities and livestock predation common in bordering villages due to expanding settlements and shrinking habitat.

9. Bandipur National Park (Karnataka)

   • Occasional reports of fatal tiger attacks and livestock predation due to large buffer zone population.

10. Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (Tamil Nadu)

    • Regularly in the news for tiger-related human fatalities and high degree of man-animal conflict due to proximity to agricultural land.

Highlights & Trends

• The highest number of attacks is consistently reported from the Sundarbans and reserves with high human-tiger interface, especially where agricultural lands border core tiger habitats.

• Many incidents involve old, displaced, or injured tigers venturing into human settlements out of desperation.

• Territorial displacement within high-density reserves like Bandhavgarh, Kanha, and Tadoba significantly raises the risk of man-eating incidents.

These trends underscore the importance of sustained mitigation efforts, careful landscape management, and effective compensation and coexistence strategies in buffer areas.