Mumbai, Dec. 23 -- Amid a rise in incidents of human-leopard conflict across Maharashtra, noted environmentalist and senior journalist Dr Prashant Ravindra Sinkar has urged the state government to fundamentally rethink its wildlife management policies, asserting that unchecked urbanisation and habitat destruction are the primary causes of the crisis.
In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Dr Sinkar questioned the prevailing narrative that treats leopards as threats when they stray into human settlements. "When a leopard enters a human habitation, it is labelled dangerous. But when humans continuously encroach upon forests, it is called development," he wrote, adding that society must recognise that expanding settlements...