Wild tiger populations have shown modest recovery after severe decline, but conservation efforts must balance population growth with the welfare of individual animals in human-dominated landscapes.
Tiger conservation creates genuine welfare dilemmas as populations recover. Individual tigers face hazards including territorial disputes, human-wildlife conflict, prey shortage, and poaching. The welfare of conflict tigers — those that enter human settlements and kill livestock or occasionally people — is particularly fraught: relocation causes severe stress and high mortality rates, while euthanasia is sometimes the welfare-optimal choice for animals that cannot be safely relocated. Conservation frameworks that protect large, connected landscapes with prey base management address both population-level conservation and individual tiger welfare more effectively than reactive management of conflict incidents.