Women face higher risk of death in Nepal’s tiger attacks, study finds

Women in Nepal face a disproportionately higher risk of death from tiger attacks compared to men, a new study reveals. Between 2010 and 2024, tigers attacked 245 people, resulting in 141 fatalities. While men were attacked more frequently (160 times), women, despite fewer attacks (85), suffered a much higher fatality rate of over 72 percent, compared to men's rate of less than 50 percent.

The research, published in the journal Ecology and Evolution, highlights that these dangerous encounters often happen not within national parks but in the surrounding buffer zones and forests. These areas are frequented by local communities for essential activities like collecting firewood, fodder, and other forest products, as well as grazing livestock and fishing.

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Our goal was to analyse the underlying factors driving the total number of attacks.

Recent attacks in Chitwan have underscored these risks. On August 16, a 60-year-old man was injured in a village settlement after a tiger strayed from the forest. Just five days prior, another man was killed by a tiger while gathering resources in a buffer zone forest. Authorities have since captured both tigers involved in these specific incidents.

The study suggests that the disparity in fatality rates might be linked to body posture during an attack. Women often crouch or bend down while gathering resources, a position found to be associated with a higher death rate (44 out of 59 attacked while crouching died). In contrast, men, often engaged in activities requiring them to stand or walk, had a lower fatality rate when attacked in those positions (29 out of 71 attacked while standing or walking died). Researchers emphasize that this disparity warrants further investigation.

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Women face greater risk of dying