National Geographic states that wild tigers are generally wary of humans and usually avoid contact. It also notes that attacks most often happen when a tiger is threatened, surprised, or cannot find normal prey, rather than because humans are its preferred food.

The source says tigers normally prefer to avoid people and kill them less often than there are opportunities. It also says that when provoked, tigers may give a warning growl and allow the human to move away.

In most areas, tigers avoid humans, but attacks are a risk wherever people coexist with them. Dangerous encounters are more likely to occur in edge habitats between wild and agricultural areas. Most attacks on humans are defensive, including protection of young; however, tigers do sometimes see people as prey.

It says tigers tend to attack humans only while hunting or when they feel threatened. It adds that tigers are typically wary of humans and usually show no preference for human meat.

Tiger attacks on humans occur for various reasons and have claimed more human lives than any other member of the cat family. Tigers are typically wary of humans and have shown no preference for human meat. Although humans are relatively easy prey, they are not a desired source of food. Most tigers will only attack a human if they cannot physically satisfy their needs otherwise. Tigers rarely press an attack if they are seen before their ambush is mounted.

The page says wild tigers mostly keep to themselves and steer clear of humans. It explicitly states that in the wild, tigers stay distant and do not view humans as part of their natural prey spectrum.

Our study distinguishes the cause-effect relationships of tiger activity shifts and conflicts, indicating that, while tigers predominantly exhibit avoidance behaviour toward human disturbance, the occasional encounters with livestock present opportunities for depredation. These results suggest that tigers adjust their spatiotemporal behaviour to avoid humans, concentrating their activity in times or places with lower human presence, although conflict can still arise where livestock are accessible.

In fact, most attacks on people are chance encounters gone wrong. Victims of such accidental attacks are rarely dragged away as prey or actually eaten. Fortunately, a tiger turning to human prey is rare. The truth is, less than 85 people are killed or injured – accidentally or otherwise – in a year by tigers here.

Every year the tigers attack up to 60 people, and only half survive to tell the tale. Most people here are attacked when they accidentally disturb a tiger – without realising it is nearby – or when they get too close to its cubs.

The article says the natural reaction of wild tigers when encountering a human is to run away. It also says tigers are innately wary of humans on foot and that many killings are mistaken-identity incidents.

It is estimated that around 80% of documented attacks occur accidentally, often because the tiger was startled or misidentified a person as a potential prey.[12] Researchers working on tiger attacks in Nepal describe how many incidents happen when people enter forested areas to collect resources and unexpectedly encounter tigers at close range.[12] These accidental encounters support the view that most wild tigers are not actively hunting humans but react defensively or through mistaken identity.[12]

Tigers usually avoid people, but they’ll attack if they feel threatened, need to protect cubs, are injured or old, or can’t find enough prey.[4] Tigers attack most often when they get surprised, cornered, or need to defend cubs or territory.[4] Some attacks just happen because the tiger gets used to humans or livestock as easy meals, especially when their natural prey is scarce.[4]

It is important to know that generally, a Tiger is not interested in human beings. It is often noticed that he will leave the trail if he hears or sees you on the same trail. In the majority of cases, tigers avoid direct confrontation with humans unless they feel threatened or cornered.

If a tiger sees you, it’ll usually watch with caution, not hunger. Tigers tend to avoid people and only attack if they feel cornered, threatened, or are desperately hungry. Most tigers stick to hunting deer, pigs, and other wild animals. They really don’t see people as their go-to meal. Tigers usually don’t find humans appealing as prey, but in desperate or unusual situations, they might attack and eat people.

Generally in wildlife circles, it is observed that tiger attacks on and consumption of humans increase in cases when the wild cats age or suffer from injuries and are unable to hunt, or when their natural prey base disappears from the habitat, says Krishnendu Basak, a conservation biologist.[11] M K Ranjitsinh… adds that humans are also encroaching upon tiger connectivity corridors… "The overcrowding, habitat loss and human activities can cause behavioural changes in tigers, leading to attacks."[11] These comments emphasise that man-eating behaviour is typically associated with specific stressors (age, injury, low prey, habitat loss) rather than a general interest in humans as prey.[11]

The tiger might have attacked a human out of desperation, one local official said. "The animal has started attacking humans, because it is not getting its natural prey," Rupek De, chief wildlife warden of Uttar Pradesh, told the Associated Press.[5] Indeed, when a carnivorous animal attacks a human, experts often point to a low population of the animal's usual prey.[5] The lack of prey species… is also forcing predators such as tigers, leopards and bears to travel farther to find sustenance.[5]

The article says that in most places, tigers are wary of human beings and avoid encounters. It adds that accidental mauling or killing of humans is rare and usually occurs in specific conflict situations.

When a tiger encounters a human, the situation is far from a guaranteed conflict. In many instances, a tiger will simply observe a human and then continue on its way. While tigers don’t typically fear humans in the same way they fear fire or loud noises, they usually prefer to avoid confrontation. No, tigers generally do not actively hunt humans. Attacks primarily occur when tigers feel threatened, are surprised, or mistake a human for prey.

Tigers seem to become serial man-eaters for other reasons. It may well be that humans are the only option available to tigers that are too infirm to hunt more fleet-footed prey - elderly or disabled animals, for example, or those with dental problems.[8] Physical disability is not the only factor. Declines in natural prey availability has also been implicated as a driver of attacks on people.[8] This discussion suggests that repeated attacks on humans arise from altered circumstances, not from a general predatory interest in humans.[8]

K Ullas Karanth, conservation biologist and a tiger expert, said tiger attacks have nothing to do with tigers acquiring a "taste for human flesh" but more to these animals losing their fear of human beings when the latter are vulnerable.[10] He said attacks by tigers are also caused mainly by cubs 15-16 months of age, who are inquisitive or mothers who are protective about their cubs.[10] This implies that most attacks are situational (loss of fear, curiosity, protection of cubs), not because tigers normally regard humans as prey.[10]

First, it's important to know that tigers do indeed attack humans, but such incidents are relatively rare. Tigers typically avoid humans and their natural reaction when encountering people is to run away. However, there are specific circumstances that can lead to attacks, for instance when humans venture into the undergrowth or lean over while cutting grass or collecting firewood, they can be mistaken for prey such as deer. In summary, while tigers do attack humans, these incidents are generally rare and often result from specific circumstances such as mistaken identity or conflicts over habitat and resources.

The page says wild tigers typically avoid contact with humans as much as possible and that most wild tigers flee from humans on sight. It also says tigers do not typically view humans as prey.

On average Siberian tigers kill about one person a year. Unprovoked attacks occur about once every four years. Six cases of unprovoked attacks involving Siberian tigers leading to man-eating behavior were recorded in the 20th century in Russia. With rare exception, all tiger attacks on people have taken place when the latter has been armed, possibly making the person bolder and less vigilant.

Krishnendu Basak, Human Wildlife Conflict Mitigation expert, says that low wild prey density in the Sundarbans, combined with frequent human presence in the forest may have increased encounters, gradually eroding tigers’ fear of humans. In some cases, this has led some individual tigers to see humans as potential prey.[6] For Mallik, the tiger attacks and hunting and consumption of humans by them "is perhaps due to combined effect of environmental attributes and human activity pattern"… difficulty in preying upon animals bring about a psychological change in the tiger behaviour.[6] These observations indicate that seeing humans as prey is a learned or situational behavior for certain individuals, not a general trait of all wild tigers.[6]

Tigers generally exhibit a cautious and avoidant behavior toward humans, typically preferring to remain concealed in dense vegetation rather than initiating an encounter. In most natural settings, a tiger that senses a human nearby will silently retreat to avoid detection, as humans are not part of their natural prey spectrum. However, this dynamic changes significantly in areas where human settlements encroach upon deep forest habitats, leading to accidental "surprise" encounters where a tiger may strike out of a defensive or territorial reflex. In such rare instances of habituation or desperation, the tiger’s behavior shifts from avoidance to predatory stalking, utilizing its immense strength and camouflage to ambush from behind.

The article says tigers do not attack humans because humans do not constitute their prey. It also says tigers actively avoid human interaction for survival reasons.

Tigers, known for their strength and beauty, are typically elusive creatures that prefer to avoid human encounters. However, certain situations can increase the likelihood of attacks. Basically, the general advice seems to be to stand your ground and make it very obvious that you're not going to be an easy meal, but also try and back away. So, don't stare directly at the animal; look towards the ground, move away, and make some noise.

From Valmik Thapar to Jim Corbett himself, any tiger wallah could tell you the various factors that can turn a normal tiger into a man-eater: a disabling wound or infirmity, a loss of prey species, or a degradation of natural habitat.[16] The piece notes that "Tigers don't eat humans" as a generalisation, then explores how exceptional individuals like the Champawat Tiger became prolific killers due to human-driven ecological disruption.[16] This framing reinforces that habitual predation on humans is atypical and arises from specific causes.[16]

Most tigers will only attack if you are looking away because they are ambush predators. They want to get a quick and easy kill, and while they can overpower a human they can't risk getting an eye poked out and injured or wasting too much energy chasing a prey item that has already seen them because they will need to hunt again soon to feed. Tigers rarely press an attack if they are seen before their ambush is mounted (this behavior is also described in field reports and popularized in discussions of tiger attacks).