The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has prescribed these guidelines to ascertain whether a tiger is a man-eater:
Constitute a team of experts nominated by the Chief Wildlife Warden of the state and NTCA, a veterinarian, representatives of a local non-profit and the panchayat, and the director of the tiger reserve for day-to-day monitoring of the conflicting tiger guiding the forest department. Ascertain the reason for the human kill. Tigers killing human being due to chance encounters should not be declared man-eaters. Confirmed habituated tiger which 'stalk' human beings and feed on the dead body are likely to be "man-eaters". Gather field evidence to establish that the tiger is habituated to kill and eat humans. The human beings killed due to chance encounters may also be eaten by the tiger, but this is not enough to call the tiger man-eater. It can best be established only after confirming the habituation of the big cat for deliberate stalking of human beings, while avoiding its natural prey. Ascertain the reason for tiger turning into a man-eater. Is it because of the tiger's disability due to old age, incapacitation due to serious injury or loss/breakage of its canines? There could be other specific reasons and they have to be ascertained on a case to case basis.
Public support for the tiger is growing. (Left) A hoarding in New Delhi