Wild Animal Attacks Claim 420 Lives In Maharashtra Over 5 Years
Wild animals that pose a threat to human life are being captured under the Wildlife Protection Act: Reports
MUMBAI: In a sign of growing menace of wild animals in Maharashtra, a total of 420 people died in attacks by wild animals in Maharashtra the state in the last five years. Of these fatalities, 104 were caused by tigers and leopards.
State Forest Minister Ganesh Naik, in a written reply in the Vidhan Parishad, said Chandrapur district in the Vidarbha region alone recorded 47 deaths in 2025 and Rs 8.27 crore have been disbursed as financial assistance to the kin of the deceased.
“In the year 2025, 47 people died in wild animal attacks in Chandrapur district and as per the provisions of the prevailing rules, financial assistance of Rs. 827 lakh was provided to the legal heirs of the deceased. In the last seven years, cases of 27 human deaths have been recorded in leopard attacks in the Junnar Forest Department. In 26 of these cases, compensation of Rs. 553 lakh was provided to the legal heirs of the deceased,” said Naik.
The state government had sent a proposal to the central government to sterilise 150 leopards. After the Centre gave its in-principle approval to the proposal, the forest authorities in Junnar sterilised five leopards, he added.
The minister stated that measures are being taken at the regional level to curb human-wildlife conflict. Patrol teams of regional officers and employees are being formed and regular patrols are being carried out in the forest area as well as in wild animal-prone areas to control the movement of wild animals.
Wild animals that pose a threat to human life are being captured under the Wildlife Protection Act. The state government has submitted a proposal to the central government for the sterilization of 150 leopards, Naik said.
There has been a sudden rise in leopard attacks in Maharashtra in recent months. Taking serious note of the increase in leopard attacks on humans, the State Government has proposed to declare the crisis as a ‘state disaster.’
