The man-animal conflict was at its highest during 2025 in last three years when over 90 humans lost their lives in Maharashtra, even as wildlife conservation remains a top priority. The Forest Department has been facing various complex challenges, especially, with the rising cases of human-wildlife conflict. According to the data shared by the Forest Department under a Right To Information (RTI) application demanded by RTI activist Abhay Kolarkar, 501 human deaths took place in the last six years (2020-26) in the incidents related to man-animal conflict in the State. In the last six years, year 2022 witnessed highest 111 human deaths, followed by year 2025 with the death count at 91. The number of people who have died during such conflicts has gone up since 2019.

 

The data shows that a total of 39 people across the State died during 2019, while in 2020, this number was reported to be 82. In 2021, 86 people died due to human-wildlife conflict and in 2022, this number increased to 111, the Forest Department data revealed. Majority of these deaths were reported from Vidarbha region where most were victims of tiger attacks. In 2023, the number of human deaths reduced drastically as compared to previous three years. The number was merely 64 in 2023 and in 2024, the number was 67. However, the number once again increased in 2025 with 91 human deaths in Maharashtra. The RTI query also revealed that in last six years, 3,934 humans were injured in man-animal conflict in the State. The number was highest in 2023 with 1,312 humans injured in the conflict. In 2024, the number of injuries was 1,028 and in 2025, it dipped by 604 incidents.

 

During the six-year period, the compensation given for man-animal conflict and crop damage caused due to wildlife also increased. The data shows that, in 2020-21, the total compensation given for such incidences across the State was Rs 80.22 lakh, which was the same in 2021-22. The compensation given during 2022-23 was Rs 1.27 crore, which further increased to Rs 1.45 crore in 2023-24. The Forest Department paid highest compensation of Rs 1.84 crore in 2024-25. Whereas, in 2025-26, the compensation was Rs 1.46 crore. Overall, in the last six years, the Forest Department paid Rs 7.63 crore as compensation. A growing tiger population is an indicator of a good ecosystem. The Government of Maharashtra has instructed strong conservation efforts and for its success, it is important that all stakeholders work together. In a latest development, Forest Minister Ganesh Naik approved a fund of Rs 260 crore to mitigate man-animal conflict in the State.