Wild tiger populations face welfare threats from habitat loss, prey depletion, and conflict with humans in their remaining range states.
Wild tigers face welfare challenges throughout their range from inadequate prey availability to habitat fragmentation that prevents natural social and territorial behaviors. Tigers that have depleted prey in their territory may undertake risky livestock raids that lead to retaliatory killing. Fragmented populations in isolated reserves face inbreeding and reduced behavioral opportunities. Conservation programs that restore prey, expand habitat, and support human-tiger coexistence simultaneously address population conservation and individual welfare.