Amid Wolf Attacks, Union Minister On How To Curb Human-Animal Conflict

The states of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat recently witnessed wolves and crocodiles crossing over from their natural habitat to human settlements. The recent human-wildlife overlap comes even as states, such as Kerala and Chhattisgarh, frequently grapple with elephant attacks and their movement into residential areas. Experts blame habitat loss and climate change for these occurrences.

Union Minister for environment and climate change Bhupender Yadav, while speaking at the India Sustainability Mission conclave, addressed the issue of the wolf attack in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich that has claimed eight lives so far.

"Whenever there's a situation where there is a grave danger, local wildlife warden can use their powers, but consciously. But, we constantly work to save the jungles, their animals and their ecosystem," he said.

In the last two months, Bahraich district has recorded eight deaths, including seven children, in a series of attacks by wolves, according to official figures.

The attacks coincided with crocodile sightings in Gujarat's Vadodara after a massive deluge due to heavy rain. A total of 24 crocodiles were rescued from residential areas in Gujarat's Vadodara amid very heavy rains between August 27 and 29, which led to an increase in the water level in the Vishwamitri river that flows through the city. 

The river is home to 440 crocodiles, many of which move into residential areas during flooding caused by water release from the Ajwa dam, a forest officer said.

The Union Minister also listed out steps the government is taking to preserve wildlife and curb the instances of man-animal conflict.

"We are committed towards the preservation and conservation of forest areas because these places have an ecological system. We run awareness programmes around these areas. We also release guidelines from time to time and also run capacity building programme," he said.

He also spoke about measures being taken to increase the shrinking habitats of elephants.

"We have recently declared 33 elephant corridors. We have declared corridors in Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu. Sometimes, the elephants get hit by trains while crossing railway tracks, so we are working with WII (Wildlife Institute of India) and railways to find a technical solution to it," Mr Yadav said.

"In Chhattisgarh, the local FMs inform about the elephant movement and we ask people to avoid those areas," he added.

Human-wildlife overlap is projected to increase across more than half of all lands around the globe by 2070, as per the findings of a study in the journal Science Advances. It suggests that as the human population increases, humans and animals will share increasingly crowded landscapes.