MUMBAI, Nov. 1 -- 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. 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 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. 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. "Such steps are an admission that the government is destroying wildlife habitats. The real game here is removing wildlife from its habitat and opening up forest land for plunder," said D Stalin, founder of Vanashakti....