The discovery of three dead tiger cubs in the Wayanad landscape of the Western Ghats in Kerala is bound to sharpen calls for a sustainable solution to the growing issue of man-animal conflict. One of the dead tigers was found in a plantation, while the other two were discovered in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary area, where tigers enjoy full protection. A proper scientific inquiry is needed to establish the cause, but the initial official explanation is that the cubs possibly perished in an attack by a male tiger. Given India’s pre-eminent position as a country with the most wild tigers, any loss of tigers is taken seriously by the Union and State governments. Large budgets are devoted annually to increasing their population in the wild. The Western Ghats are mostly forested, spanning 1,600 km along the coast, and their globally-acclaimed biodiversity has to coexist with dense human populations, especially in Kerala. As economic activity expands, human-animal conflict has become common, and Wayanad is ground zero in this crisis. As recently as January, a woman was fatally attacked in an estate in Pancharakolly, provoking protests and calls from local communities for aggressive measures to remove the big cats, if necessary, through culls. Human lives and livestock are at risk across the region, and 915 people have died in conflicts with animals in Kerala in the past eight years. Calls for a containment strategy, therefore, receive strong political support. The state forest minister, A.K. Saseendran, even supported a tiger cull but stepped back because of existing legal protections and global concerns over such an approach.

It is an irony that human pressure may already be regulating tiger numbers in the wider Western Ghats landscapes, given that the last national count of wild tigers in 2022 recorded 824 individuals out of 3,167 countrywide in these forests, compared to 981 out of 2,967 in 2018. What is more, the presence of tigers outside designated wildlife protection areas has declined in Wayanad, along with BRT Hills, Mookambika-Sharavathi-Sirsi landscape, Bhadra, and Anamalai-Parambikulam areas, according to the Status of Tigers 2022 published by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). A similar fraught relationship exists between the sizeable elephant population and communities in the greater Wayanad region, again, provoking calls for action to eliminate problem animals. Solving the human-animal conflict is so important to everyday life in Wayanad that newly-elected MP Priyanka Gandhi brought it up in Parliament, calling for enhanced compensation for loss of life and agriculture. Higher payouts for victims and their families, however, cannot address the underlying issue of wild animals crossing the path of people due to habitat loss. Mitigation of distressing face-offs depends on providing forested pathways for animals and stopping the expansion of human settlements. This scientific approach is favoured by researchers: Nagarahole in Karnataka was the crucible of such an experiment, giving forest-dwellers homes, cash compensation and farmlands away from the sanctuary and making more room for animals. It is unsurprising that the 2022 tiger census lists Nagarahole, along with neighbouring Bandipur, as a growth area for the big cat’s population, although fewer tigers occupy lands outside the core forests. Sparing the richest habitat by demarcating it as an Ecologically Sensitive Zone, as recommended by the Madhav Gadgil Committee, and taking over forest fragments that large animals need is imperative. Any attempt to please special interests, who seek to expand incompatible tourism, farming and mining in areas surrounding forests, can only result in half measures that exacerbate conflicts.

One of the questions posed by the history of conflicts in Wayanad is whether the three constituent taluks recommended by the Gadgil panel for the highest level of ESZ I demarcation are in good ecological health. The evidence thus far is weak, with deadly mudslides marking the monsoon. This should lead to remedial measures. It is worth mentioning that apart from the Idukki district, it was much of Wayanad that was identified for ESZ I protection. More broadly, the Gadgil report deplored the tendency of conservation policy to ignore community-led initiatives to preserve forests and wildlife while encouraging exploitation of forest landscapes for mining and hydroelectric power generation. A partnership with local communities that prevents degradation of forest habitat of elephants, tigers (and their prey) would go a long way in mitigating conflicts, while also providing people access to sustainable levels of non-timber forest produce.

Among the challenges that could be managed with the help of locals is the rapid spread of invasive plants, Lantana is a prime example which is choking large parts of the Ghats in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It is such hard work on the ground that will reduce conflicts with animals while winning public support for conservation through higher monetary compensation for economic losses. There is scientific consensus that problem animals such as man-eating tigers should be removed permanently in order to raise confidence among communities. The union environment minister, Bhupendra Yadav, who recently visited conflict-hit districts in Kerala, has reiterated that the state forest administrators have the authority to order such removals. Yet, in Kerala, state politics has tended to use human-animal conflicts as cudgels, rather than find common ground in scientific conservation practices. The Western Ghats is a global biodiversity hotspot and key to India’s ecological health and climate stability. The union and state governments must show determination to scientifically mitigate human-animal conflicts.