MYSURU: As the year draws to a close, Karnataka finds itself at the crossroads of human–wildlife conflicts (HWC). What began as a usual HWC ballooned into one of the most fraught chapters in the state’s environmental narrative this year with fear and grief rubbing shoulders with wildlife management, tourism, livelihoods and law.
Wildlife in the state, tigers and elephants in particular, has increased due to decades of protection. But this success story has a downside. With more big animals and shrinking natural corridors, conflicts have soared with many incidents of elephants and tigers venturing into farms this year.
In Mysuru region, the situation was especially tense. In October and November, multiple tiger attacks in fringe villages around Saragur and Hunsur shook rural life. In just a few weeks, three villagers lost their lives in tiger maulings, and several more were injured.
Elephants were no less with many incidents being reported in Hassan and Kodagu districts.
Between mid-October and mid-December, forest teams captured 26 tigers in Mysuru district, including many cubs in an effort to defuse conflict and prevent further human casualties. While officials said these operations were to remove potentially dangerous animals from conflict zones, wildlife experts and conservationists argued that many wild animals were trapped indiscriminately. In some cases, young cubs were separated from their mothers in ways that may have long-term impacts on their survival and on local tiger dynamics.
Compounding the problem was a critical shortage of wildlife veterinarians and field support staff. Even the assurance of setting up a permanent cadre for the wildlife veterinarians remained only in papers.
The rise in conflicts did not just affect villagers but it rippled across the tourism economy as well, particularly in the Bandipur and Nagarahole Tiger Reserves. In early November, following a series of fatal tiger attacks, the state government suspended all safari and trekking operations in these reserves.
Another flashpoint this year was the proliferation of resorts and homestays around forest edges, particularly in Kabini and Bandipur. While long-term solutions are floated, including restoring wildlife corridors, smarter land-use planning, AI technology, community-led early warning systems and technology-aided monitoring, the new year will tell how well it is implemented.