The recent rise in deaths of wild cats is deeply disturbing. In many cases, investigations have pointed to poisoning as the primary cause. This tragedy, I believe, is rooted in how we perceive wildlife ” as villains. This perception is shaped by the way human-animal conflicts are reported. Whenever a leopard or tiger is spotted near a human settlement, it triggers panic among residents, and the media reports only from that point of view. But what about the situation of the wild animal? Rarely does anyone report that the settlement itself is close to a shrinking forest, and that the forest is shrinking further. We have seen this pattern in Aravalli, Hasdeo, and Gachibowli, where forests are destroyed for real estate, mining, and infrastructure. Against 1.46 billion people, we have merely 3,682 tigers and 13,874 leopards. If poisoning becomes the default response to their desperation, those numbers will only fall. We need balanced reporting that highlights habitat loss as the root cause. We need stricter enforcement against poisoning and encroachments. Most of all, we need to accept that development cannot come at the cost of extinction.
