Pune: Tiger attacks have caused more human deaths in Maharashtra in the past few years than by any other big cats, including leopards , a state forest department data showed. In 2023-24, 39 people died in tiger attacks and 15 in leopard attacks. In 2022-23, there were 18 deaths due to leopard attacks and 81 owing to tiger attacks.
Similarly, in 2021-22, there were 26 deaths due to leopard attacks and 53 due to tiger attacks. “Most of these cases occur when people living in the vicinity of forests encroach upon wildlife space and do not follow the safety instructions before entering the animal territory,” former principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Sunil Limaye told TOI. “Most of these attacks are accidental, with only a few exceptions.
If animals are in favourable conditions, their population inevitably increases, such as in sugar cane farms. We can reduce animal-human interface and fatality by following precautionary measures,” he said. “In case of leopards, which are elusive animals, most attacks occur in areas where farming activity is high,” said Aditya Paranjape, wildlife warden, Pune district.
We also published the following articles recently Tigers kill more people in Maharashtra than leopards Tiger attacks have led to more fatalities than leopards in Maharashtra in recent years. In 2023-24, 39 people died from tiger attacks compared to 15 from leopard attacks. The forest department is working on various strategies to reduce such incidents, as .