This is definitely all in his head. Or a dream. Things aren't this contrived or convenient in real life. (I just so happen to have a bottle that can separate mud from water! Why did I bring it to school? Shut up!)
@Seink He did, it's just that Tigers typically prey on things around the 40-45 lbs range and eat primarily hooved mammals. If they're lucky, they'll catch a baby elephant, but that's a dangerous proposition because elephants will murder your ass as a tiger. Think around deer-sized on average. No consider that a bunch of large, furless apes start mucking about near your home and normally you don't mess with them because apes have the agility advantage and typically animals don't eat weird things that make a lot of noise.
Tiger attacks are typically rare and only occur if they're feeding, get too close and think they have to defend themselves, or if they're mothers with cubs. They only go human-only if they have some kind of debilitating injury, like a gunshot wound. Mistaken identity can also be a thing, but that only happens if they're alone more often than not. Tigers jumping a pack of people is a bad idea because of the safety of numbers in general.