The 55% increase in the presence of local residents across the
study site from 2010 to 2011 may have caused tigers to alter their
space use by being more wary in areas with higher local resident
foot traffic. In 2011, increased detection of tigers near forest
roads, which are energetically efficient means of traversing the
landscape (35), may indicate that tigers were also avoiding the
smaller trails typically used by local residents when on foot.
Moreover, the increase in tiger density inside the park in 2011
was concurrent with greater numbers of local residents entering
the forests across the study site, which suggests that the park is an
important refuge from high levels of disturbance for tigers