Rehabilitation experiments at Dudhwa Tiger Reserve:

Other, less controversial experiments were carried out at Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. These also involved Billy, along with the park manager. This time they wanted to try rehabilitation of a man-eater.

The chosen tiger had already killed and eaten 4 people; it wasn't injured or old, and there seemed no reason it should be attacking people.

In an effort to transfer the tiger back onto its natural prey the cat was moved to an area with low human encroachment and a high number of prey species.

At his new home the tiger was offered 32 baits. Each day the quantity of food was reduced, so forcing the big cat to supplement his meals by hunting. Within 40 days he was completely independent of the baits and hunting for himself.

Not every tiger responded successfully to this practice and tiger baiting is now illegal in India, having been  recognised as being particularly cruel for the bait animals.

More man-eaters at Dudhwa Tiger Reserve:

It was now that Dudhwa Tiger reserve experienced a rash of man-eaters. At times the attacks involved tigers in close proximity to each other:

•  On December 6, 1978, the man-eating tigress of Gola-Barocha was shot.

The end of 'Project Tiger Reform':

This trend continued, with the design of the park probably being responsible for much of the problem. Due to the lack of a buffer, villagers constantly crossed into the park disturbing the wildlife and crossing into the territories of tigers. Quite typically, money and equipment was very low, making translocation of troublesome tigers an impossibility. Further attempts to rehabilitate other tigers were unsuccessful, or had to be shelved due to financial issues. The situation was gradually resolved by time and through the use of the bullet.

Dudhwa today:

Problems at Dudhwa have been minor in the past few years. Occasional tiger attacks still occur, but these are no higher than at other wildlife reserves. For instance, on average, two villagers get attacked at Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve each year. This happens most commonly during the monsoon season when the locals enter the reserve to collect grass.

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