Srinagar, Oct. 2 -- The boundary between Kashmir's forests and human settlements is changing. Wildlife encounters that were once largely confined to forest margins are increasingly being reported from orchards, agricultural fields, villages and the expanding outskirts of towns. In the last decade more human-wildlife conflict incidents were recorded in Kashmir, resulting in deaths and injuries. The Wildlife Protection Department reports increase in the number of distress calls from across the Valley.

These figures represent more than a rise in individual encounters. They point to a changing relationship between wildlife habitat and human land use. As forests become increasingly fragmented and orchards, roads and settlements extend towards...