By Subrata Gayen

India is a watershed of historical, philosophical and scientific ideologies. The concept of harmonious coexistence with animals and other natural resources is quite old in the country. However, it is only in recent times that we started questioning the age-old values and practices of our forefathers. At this era of urbanization, with development being imperative; coexistence may not any longer remain as a natural way of life. It becomes a crucial challenge for mankind.

Let us focus on terrestrial carnivores now. Although the damage caused by snakes might be higher than carnivores in our country, but our psychology of fear for large carnivores makes us more sensitive to carnivore related conflicts than reptiles. Can we stop conflict? Or, should we simply manage it? And if yes, how and at what level? Should our livelihood securities and pace of development be compromised while giving priority to conservation agendas? Or, should we eradicate the problem animals totally? What, why, when, where and how?

By Kausik Banerjee

Large carnivores have always been a source of fascination for people and our relationships with them vary from awe and inspiration to fear and loathing. More than any other animals, carnivores have forced us to move from ecosystem theory to ecosystem management and conservation with a focal shift from species to systems and from science vs. management to science and management. Large carnivores often provide the ultimate test of society’s willingness to conserve wildlife and thus have traditionally served as a charismatic conservation flagship worldwide. Nevertheless, recent assessments of the conservation status of carnivores present an alarming picture of ongoing declines and range contractions.  Although carnivore conservation across the globe -- and particularly in an agrarian country like India -- is fraught with human dominations of potential habitats, poaching and fragmentation, the Gir lions in the westernmost state of Gujarat, India, have an altogether different story to narrate.