Wildlife within Cityscapes: Managing India’s Human-Animal Conflicts

Residents of Kotagiri, a hill station in the Nilgiris, remain anxious over frequent encounters with the wildlife who come rummaging for food in the town’s open dump sites near the forests. In October 2023, an elephant was electrocuted near Sindewahi, marking Maharashtra’s 1st elephant death in 100 years. Chief Conservator of Forests, Dr Ramgaonkar highlighted the absence of wild-elephants in the Gadchiroli district before this incident, indicating how they have been pushed out of their natural habitat. Increasing urbanization, agricultural expansion, forest degradation & climate change have contributed to the rise in human-animal conflicts.

Monkey menace in Jammu’s Shivalik foothills has forced farmers to cultivate non-traditional crops or migrate to towns in search of other jobs. Meanwhile, increasing incidents of leopard attacks in Dehradun have prompted state authorities to issue orders for night patrolling by forest officials. In Jhargram, the West Bengal Forest Dept is installing 12 km of power fencing to prevent elephant encounters which have resulted in 5 deaths within the town’s municipal boundary.

An AI-based surveillance system has been utilized in Coimbatore to track elephant presence along railway tracks to avoid accidents. Similarly, drones & thermal cameras have been deployed in the Gadchiroli district to mitigate human-animal conflicts. However, experts also urge for controlled usage of tracking-technologies as there is a potential risk of sensitive information being leaked about rare wildlife, thereby making them vulnerable to poaching.

In July 2023, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve’s Talavadi Forest Range organized an awareness rally in town to prevent human-animal conflicts. Meanwhile, fatalities from elephant encounters have prompted authorities in Wayanad to form a people’s monitoring committee along with developing communication channels through community radio, microphone announcements & WhatsApp groups to warn local residents about incursions by wild animals.

Have there been human-animal conflicts in your city? How have such incidents been addressed in your city?