MAN-EATER?
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Attacks on people by big cats are rare and usually the result of an unexpected encounter.
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The term "man-eater" is often associated with tigers, although other big cats such as lions and pumas have been known to kill people. Deliberate hunting of humans as prey usually happens only if a cat is old or injured, and has difficulty hunting wild prey.
One exception to this is in Sunderbans, a large swampy forest in India and Bangladesh. In this region, tigers kill between 40 and 100 people each year. People do not live there, but about 35,000 enter the forest each year to fish, cut wood, and gather honey. Nobody knows why the Sunderbans tigers hunt people. The cubs probably learn the habit from their mothers. Despite the killings, the people consider the tiger a great forest spirit and honor it with elaborate "pujas" or ceremonies.
Since tigers are thought to attack only from the rear, the Sunderbans woodsmen wear masks, such as the one below, on the backs of their heads. This second "face" is thought to confuse the tigers and thus protect the wearer. |
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Photograph of masked man courtesy Peter Jackson © Peter Jackson Page design by Jim Angus |