Forest dept to deploy special squads to curb wildlife attacks

The plan, to be rolled out across the state by the forest department, was cleared by the State Board for Wildlife earlier this week

MUMBAI: The state’s answer to the man-animal conflict, fuelled by expanding urbanisation into forest land, is to station rapid response teams armed with tranquiliser guns and traps to prevent animals from straying into human settlements and drive them back into the forest.

Forest dept to deploy special squads to curb wildlife attacks

The plan, to be rolled out across the state by the forest department, was cleared by the State Board for Wildlife earlier this week.

In recent times, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Junnar taluka in Pune district, and parts of Chandrapur district, which is home to tiger reserves, have been topping the list of man-animal conflict areas. Leopards from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) regularly enter human settlements in Mumbai, Thane and Mira Bhayander. In Junnar, leopards wander into sugarcane fields and have attacked humans, while in Chandrapur, tigers are attacking humans.

As expanding industrial activity, mining and the urban sprawl relentlessly swallow large tracts of forest land, animal environmental activists argue that wildlife strays into human settlements only when stripped of their habitat.

According to statistics with the forest department, 501 humans died and more than 4,000 were injured between 2020-21 and 2025-26 in man-animal conflicts across the state. The records also claim that more than 30,000 livestock were killed in such attacks.

Principal chief conservator of forests M Srinivas Rao said these rapid response teams will be posted in every division of the state. They will also include a veterinary officer. These teams will be armed with tranquiliser guns and traps to lure tigers and leopards, which will then be caught and released deep inside the forest.

“The forest department now uses artificial intelligence to get alerts about a tiger or leopard entering human settlements. They must attack before attacks take place,’’ said environmentalist Suresh Chopane from Chandrapur.

“Steps like this are a blatant admission that the government is destroying wildlife habitats on a massive scale. The real game here is removing wildlife from its habitat and opening up more forest land for plunder,” says D Stalin, founder of environmental non-profit, Vanashakti. “There is zero focus on why the conflict began in the first place. The mission is clear: remove wildlife and destroy forests to help projects that plunder them,” he reasons.

In a related development, the state finance department has asked the forest department to revise its proposal for the creation of 320 posts – 272 regular posts and 48 contractual posts – for the new rapid response teams. The forest department has been directed to submit a revised proposal for the creation of all 320 posts on a contractual basis, along with approval for the likely recurring expenditure involved.

The state board for wildlife has also cleared the setting up of the Maharashtra Wildlife Development Foundation to facilitate allocation of funds to protected areas that do not receive funding from any other source. It will also enable the planning and implementation of conservation and protection measures at the state level.

At present, large reserves like Tadoba and Pench have foundations, where the government can get donations. Now there will be a consolidated fund for all sanctuaries and national parks.