Wild tiger populations exist in fragmented reserves separated by hostile human-dominated landscapes, and wildlife corridors that enable safe movement are essential for both individual tiger welfare and population viability.
Tiger welfare in fragmented landscapes encompasses the chronic stress of living in proximity to human activity, the acute risks of crossing human-dominated terrain, and the consequences of conflict that often end in lethal removal. Tigers that establish territories adjacent to villages face persistent disturbance from human activity, livestock encroachment, and the continuous vigilance required near human presence. Dispersing subadult tigers — driven from natal territories by adults — must cross agricultural and human-settled landscapes with no established social relationships or territorial knowledge, facing road mortality, snare capture, and human conflict at every step. Corridors that provide vegetation cover, minimise road crossings, and connect hunting territories reduce these welfare costs by giving tigers safe passage between reserves. The welfare and conservation arguments for corridor protection therefore reinforce each other: individual tigers live better, and populations survive longer.