India, April 18 -- Yesterday morning, a three-year-old leopard that had come down from Chamundi Hill sneaked into a house in Siddarthanagar, got cosy under a bed and went to sleep. Probably after having made a meal out of a street dog. Thankfully, the leopard was captured with no injury to him or to humans.

Across India, human-animal conflict is intensifying at an alarming pace. Between 2019 and 2024, elephant attacks caused over 2,700 human deaths, while tigers were responsible for 349. That is, on average, one human life lost every single day for five years.

On the other hand, the cost to wildlife is equally stark. In 2025, 149 leopards and over 150 elephants were killed by electrocution, train collisions and poisoning. This is a sign...