Nowhere to go: Shrinking habitat pushes wildlife into city's edge

Time of India

3 days ago

Hyderabad: The increase in frequency of wild animal sightings around Hyderabad's fringes has raised an alarm among conservationists and wildlife experts. In the latest such incident, a leopard was spotted inside the high-security Greyhounds training campus in Gandipet, a forest-edged zone on the city's western periphery.
This marks the third wildlife sighting in July alone and the 11th in 2025 so far — most of them involving leopards, and in some cases, tigers. Similar sightings were reported earlier this year from Manchirevula, Raviryal (inside the DRDO campus), and near Himayatsagar in Chilkur.
In 2024, at least five such cases were reported. "Once considered rare, such sightings have now become rampant. There is a direct link to urbanisation and fragmentation of natural habitats," said Sumanth Bindumadhav, director of the wildlife team at Humane World for Animals India.
"When the natural corridors are blocked or prey becomes scarce, animals are forced to venture into human settlements," he added.
According to environmentalists, the situation has worsened due to rapid loss of green cover. According to the Indian State of Forest Report (ISFR), Telangana lost nearly 100 sq km of forest cover between 2022 and 2023. Forest patches that were once part of larger, contiguous habitats are now surrounded by highways, luxury gated communities, and commercial zones.
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Realty boom
Much of this transformation is concentrated in the Rangareddy district, which borders Hyderabad and has witnessed a real estate boom over the past decade. Areas such as Gachibowli, Puppalaguda, Manikonda, and Narsingi, once dominated by scrubland and forests, are now crowded with IT parks, residential towers, and resorts. Gandipet, where the recent leopard was spotted, has seen a rapid makeover with new villas, tourism projects, and commercial establishments mushrooming around Osman Sagar lake.
"The destruction of forest buffers are leaving wild animals with few options. These areas were once natural transition zones between forests. Today, they are fully urbanised, forcing animals to remain locked in fragmented habitats. This also creates genetic bottlenecks," said Imran Siddiqui of the Centre for Wildlife Studies and co-founder of the Hyderabad Tiger Conservation Society.
According to forest dept data, the Amrabad Tiger Reserve currently houses 36 tigers, while the Kawal corridor has four to five.
The state is home to 297 leopards, including 121 in Amrabad and 19 in Kawal, as per a census by Union forest ministry.
"Leopards don't need large areas to hide and can survive even on small prey such as rats, unlike tigers," said Sunil Hiremath, field director of the Amrabad Tiger Reserve. "They also transition more frequently between habitats. But this is also why human-animal conflict is on the rise."
This conflict is having a visible impact.
The 'Status of Leopards in India' report notes a significant decline in leopard numbers — from 334 in 2018 to 297 now — across urban peripheries, driven by habitat loss, prey depletion, and poaching. "Conservation efforts must include habitat restoration, protection outside designated Protected Areas, and strong human-leopard conflict mitigation strategies," the report read.
Movement in districts too
The problem isn't confined to Hyderabad's western outskirts, say experts.
Wildlife movements have been reported from districts like Medak, Kamareddy, and Adilabad too, often near roads, industrial zones, and mining belts. Experts say this is the result of infrastructure projects such as highways and industrial corridors slicing through forested terrain.
"If green corridors connecting these forest patches aren't urgently restored, such encounters will increase, endangering both animal and human lives," said environmentalist Uday Krishna, who worked extensively at Tipeshwar Tiger Reserve. "There's a misconception that planting trees makes up for lost forests. But wild animals rely on complex ecosystems, not just tree cover," he further said. According to him, with Hyderabad expanding further through the Regional Ring Road and upcoming satellite townships, planning must integrate wildlife corridors and ecological safeguards.