Why Kerala Needs Anthrotherology to Handle Human-Wildlife Conflict

Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) in Kerala has escalated into a socio-ecological crisis, resulting in 1,527 human deaths and 101 rupees crore in crop damages between 2011–12 and 2025–26, driven by habitat loss, settler expansion, and cultural shifts. This commentary introduces Anthrotherology, an interdisciplinary field that draws from sociology, anthropology, ecology, economics, and ethics to examine the reciprocal dynamics between humans and wild animals. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Attappadi and available published data, I argue that Kerala’s reactive mitigation strategies fail to account for the cultural and behavioural complexities of HWC involving elephants, snakes, wild boars, and leopards. Anthrotherology provides a conceptual framework to reframe these conflicts, drawing upon historical reverence and advocating for the training of experts to design sustainable, culturally informed strategies for coexistence, supplementing ongoing efforts with long-term institutional support

Action (physics · Cognitive reframing · Conflict management · Damages · Ethnography · Field (mathematics · Meaning (existential · Reverence · Stewardship (theology · Primate Behavior and Ecology · South Asian Studies and Conflicts · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation