India, July 29 -- This is the second of a 4-part series. Read the first, third and fourth parts.

The high density means that some areas have breached their tiger carrying capacity. In overpopulated reserves, tigers are dispersing outside the protected areas. A study published in the journal Science in 2025 says that nearly 45 per cent of tiger-occupied areas are shared by 60 million people. This is also corroborated by NTCA's "Status of Tigers 2022" report, which says that approximately 23 per cent of India's tiger population (847 of the total 3,682 tigers) are located outside the protected areas, while 77 per cent (2,835 tigers) reside within or immediately around the country's 53 tiger reserves and protected areas.

This has resulted i...