Unravelling the crop protection failures: understanding animal adaptations to breach traditional defenses and shifting perspective of human wildlife interaction

Abstract

Climate change, shifting youth lifestyles, and urban migration are disrupting farmer-wildlife coexistence in east Sikkim, endangering agriculture and ecology. This study, based on 58 interviews across 33 forest-fringe villages, examines local crop protection practices.Traditional methods—tin-hitting sounds, scarecrows, and bamboo netted fences—struggle against rising wildlife interactions. No single approach suffices due to diverse raiding species, feeding behaviors, and crop types. Key crop-raiders have been identified.Declining farm participation worsens the problem: fewer fields mean wildlife focuses on remnants, amplifying damage. Previously scattered across plots, animals caused minimal harm. Now, youth disengagement burdens elderly farmers with labor-intensive tasks, prompting reduced cultivation and a shift to kitchen gardens. Abandoned lands revert to forests, drawing more wildlife and intensifying aids.Rising depredation fosters impatience and negative emotions in hill communities, threatening conservation. Wildlife increasingly outsmarts outdated measures, proving them ineffective today. Robust, authority-backed solutions beyond conventions are urgently needed.