As per the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate change, 1608 human beings were killed by animals between 2014 and 2017. Avni, a tigress in Maharashtra, killed 13 persons in 2018. On the other hand, animals too get killed in large numbers. 510 Elephants were killed by electrocution, poaching, poisoning, train accidents between 2014 and 2019. According to a summary report of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), more than 1 million animal and plant species are faced with the threat of extinction.
1. POPULATION EXPLOSION: It is the most severe cause for human-animal conflict. It provides impetus to humanity to act haphazardly to satisfy the needs of the skyrocketing population. As per World Wide Fund for Nature, more than 60% of wildlife has been destroyed by human beings since 1970. Economic development shall not come at the cost of wildlife extinction.
2. LOSS OF HABITAT: When animals experience reduced prey density, they come out of forests, enter human settlements, and damage farmlands and livestock. This makes farmers and locals feel hostile towards wild animals, making them less supportive of conservation and anti-poaching activities. These activities make humans and animals enter into a vicious cycle of retaliation for their needs and deeds. When wildlife organisms decline, it ultimately affects human food systems as vital for our food chain.
3. ANTHROPOGENIC DEVELOPMENTS: Rapid urbanization, Deforestation, Land use transformation inside protected areas for the betterment of people, and advancement of society cause frequent interaction between animals and humans, which result in the elimination of vulnerable groups. Construction of roads inside deep forests for tourism purposes obstructs animal corridors. Forex. NH 766 passing through Bandipur national park in Karnataka caused severe damage to wildlife. Rampant tourism activities in the Sariska tiger reserve of Rajasthan caused severe habitat loss for leopards and tigers. 
According to National Tiger Conservation Authority, more than half of India's tiger deaths resulted from bureaucratic negligence. Due to the flourishing of illegal trade, the prey base for large predators was reduced, resulting in wild animal disappearance. Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 provides stringent punishments for unlawful business, poaching animals in their habitats. Anthropogenic activities threaten the lives of animals in several ways. Australian bush fires in late 2019 in New South Wales and many other parts are the most traumatic, exhausting disaster that killed more than 1 Billion wildlife ranging from animals to insects and birds.
4. NATURAL CAUSES: Frequent forest fires in Amazon forests in Brazil provides evidence of extreme climate change and deepened anthropogenic exploitation in the name of development. Permission to recreational activities in buffer zones, displacement of local tribes led to rampant damage in core areas of forests. Local tribal people served as a first-line defense against fiduciary activities inside forest areas. A study by Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit revealed that nearly 4 million people visiting protected areas are more likely to be contributing to large-scale animal welfare abuses. The minor concern for wildlife among human beings due to lack of compassion and empathy is the crucial reason for human-animal conflict. Lack of humanity towards other living creatures jeopardizes the very existence of all living beings.
5. ALTERED FOREST RANGE: Increase crop cultivation area and changed cropping pattern to satisfy the food demands of the growing population disturbs the wildlife environment. Pilibhit tiger reserve in Uttar Pradesh lies very close to a densely populated area where extensive sugarcane cultivation is practiced. Due to the narrow range of accounts, tigers often infiltrate into sugarcane fields and severely damage the fields resulting in frequent human-animal conflict. Invasive exotic weeds like parthenium and lantana rapidly infest the wildlife habitats, resulting in decreased availability of edible grasses for wild herbivores. This, in turn, makes the herbivores come out of forests in search of food resulting in conflict with human beings.
Land use planning and its management inside forests shall be revised and enhanced for better standards of wildlife conservation. Commensalism in wild species has been promoted due to feeding by local communities, and this needs to be checked and prevented by the government. The population of wild ungulates like wild boars, hares which are prolific breeders, can be increased and served as prey for wild carnivores. This prevents wild animals from entering farmlands in search of food.
Application of technological developments like GIS Mapping of animal corridors and hotspots shall greatly help in wildlife protection and enhancing their population. Radio tagging of animals to monitor their movements and proper fencing of farmlands can help mitigate the human-animal crises. Predator based roofs shall be installed in livestock confined region so that it is impenetrable by wild animals. Plan Bee of North East Frontier Railways of India to avoid elephants being hit by trains received positive responses for success, and more innovative solutions need to be installed across the country.
Environmental justice can be attained only if we deviate from the principles of Sustainable development and polluter pays concepts because these ideas have a bias towards human beings rather than environmental concerns. Reports and statistics of various world organizations on the loss of wildlife indicate that the sixth mass extinction is rapidly progressing. This destruction of animal biodiversity clearly shows the frightening assault on the foundational values of human civilization.
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