Human resettlement and tiger conservation – Socio-economic assessment of pastoralists reveals a rare conservation opportunity in a human-dominated landscape

•158 Pastoralist Gujjar households surveyed across a gradient of tiger occupancy.•Majority (65%) fall below the international poverty threshold.•73% and 25% of livestock losses caused by diseases and predators, respectively.•156/158 Households prefer resettlement outside forests to improve well-being.•Preference governed by limited livelihoods, lack of access to basic amenities and not tigers.