Human casualties are the dominant cost of human–wildlife conflict in India
Sumeet Gulati, Krithi K. Karanth, Nguyet Anh Le, Frederik Noack
Abstract
Significance Successful conservation of our dwindling wildlife involves a reduction in human costs—including human casualties, crops, livestock, and other property—from interactions with wild species. We analyze survey data from households incurring wildlife damage in India to illustrate that the cost from human casualties overwhelms all other property losses. Our results imply the following: 1) Considering the cost of human casualties while estimating costs from wildlife conflict is essential. 2) Compensation for damage incurred from interactions with wildlife in India is insufficient. And 3) conservation policies and organizations should refocus (if they are not already doing so) their efforts on reducing human death and injuries from interactions with wildlife.