When the urban and the jungle meet in Bengaluru

It is astir 11 a.m. connected a lukewarm wintertime day. In an inconspicuous, quiescent sanctuary adjacent a mammoth, well-known infirmary analyzable successful Kengeri successful westbound Bengaluru, it is feeding clip for 3 babies — a Bonnet Macaque, an Indian Palm Squirrel, and a Scaly Breasted Munia. A unpaid cautiously carries the Bonnet Macaque, wrapped successful cloth, successful 1 limb and feeds the carnal with a syringe. Another unpaid brings retired the crates with the squirrel and bird, and feeds them tiny amounts of nutrient 1 by one.

These animals, on with respective others being rehabilitated astatine the People for Animals (PfA) Wildlife Hospital, were rescued from successful and astir Bengaluru.

Increasing urbanisation, metro construction, rising traffic, and contamination are pushing wildlife retired of their earthy spaces, and starring to much struggle and injuries successful Bengaluru. Rescue centre unit successful the city, arsenic good arsenic experts, pass that the fig of rescue calls has gone up successful caller times.

Col. Dr. Navaz Shariff, General Manager and Chief Wildlife Veterinarian, PfA Wildlife Hospital, Bengaluru, said, “The fig of municipality wildlife rescue calls successful and astir Bengaluru has been increasing. We besides person galore manja-related cases, arsenic glass-coated kite threads proceed to beryllium utilized and earnestly harm birds. In addition, situation loss, reduced histrion cover, and shrinking wetlands are forcing animals to participate residential areas much often.

“On the affirmative side, nationalist consciousness has improved. More radical present cognize however to study injured wildlife, which besides contributes to the emergence successful rescue calls,” helium said.

Species rescued and hotspots

Which are the taxon that they rescue the most, and from where?

“We person rescue reports for a wide assortment of animals, but the astir commonly reported taxon are Black Kites and snakes. So far, we person rescued astir 11,000 Black Kites, and the bulk of these cases are owed to manja injuries. We person responded to astir 12,000 snake cases, chiefly involving Spectacled Cobras and Rat Snakes. Other animals rescued see astir 4,000 Three-Striped Palm Squirrels and astir 3,000 Bonnet Macaques (as of October 2025),” said Col. Shariff.

Ashritha Carlo, Senior Veterinarian, Avian and Reptile Rehabilitation Centre (ARRC), besides said determination has been a dependable year-on-year emergence successful rescue calls, and the summation this twelvemonth has been peculiarly significant.

She excessively said a large contributor has been manja-related casualties. “In October alone, cases roseate by 89%, and successful November by 54% compared to the erstwhile year. In 2025, we person already rescued implicit 8,000 animals, of which astir 3,000 were manja cases. By comparison, successful 2024, we rescued 7,880 animals, including 2,646 manja victims.”

Carlo said that the extended Dasara interruption led to unusually precocious kite-flying, coinciding with the breeding play of Black Kites, a clip erstwhile adults repeatedly alert into dense canopies and gangly structures portion nest-building and feeding chicks, making them particularly susceptible to entanglement. “This year, manja injuries person been recorded successful taxon we seldom encounter, specified arsenic Booted Eagles, Mottled Wood Owls, Black-headed Ibises, and Greater Cormorants.”

Collision-related injuries person increased, peculiarly among migratory birds, she said. Over the past 2 months, taxon including Fork-tailed Drongo Cuckoos, Indian Pittas, Buttonquails, Grey-bellied Cuckoos, Blue-capped Rock Thrushes, and Blue Rock Thrushes were brought successful aft striking reflective oregon transparent solid structures. “Many migrant birds alert astatine night, and are drawn off-course by metropolis lights, making municipality buildings particularly hazardous,” she added.

ARRC besides observed much ample mammals straying into the city. Several spotted cervid were rescued from temples, highways, and wells.

The large hotspots successful Bengaluru with the highest measurement of calls, Shariff said, are Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Vijayanagar, Jayanagar, Kengeri, J.P. Nagar, and Rajajinagar. “These areas person dense quality activity, accelerated development, and shrinking earthy spaces, which increases interactions betwixt radical and wildlife — and successful turn, rescue calls,” helium added.

Subiksha Venkatesh, Lead Rehabilitator from ARRC, added that birds predominate rescues: Black Kites, Barn Owls, crows, barbets, bulbuls, and mynas, arsenic good arsenic waterbirds specified arsenic pond herons and nighttime herons. “Their prevalence reflects some their abundance successful municipality areas and the threats they face,” she said.

“Neighbourhoods specified arsenic Shivajinagar, Cubbon Park, Lalbagh, Austin Town, Ulsoor, Jayanagar, R.T. Nagar, and Hebbal grounds immoderate of the highest cases. These areas person a operation of dense quality density and activity, buildings, dense histrion cover, and unfastened spaces — each of which lend to higher human-wildlife interactions,” she pointed out.

Co-incidentally, according to a year-long camera-trap survey by Holématthi Nature Foundation (HNF), led by conservation biologist Dr. Sanjay Gubbi, the forests and scrublands astir Bengaluru person an estimated 80–85 chaotic leopards, and the metropolis surpasses Mumbai’s documented colonisation of astir 54 leopards.

The instauration not lone stated that Bengaluru is simply a ample metropolis with the highest known fig of free-ranging large cats, but besides the lone metro whose fringes proceed to enactment an ensemble of tigers, leopards, dholes, elephants, gaur, sambar and different ample mammals.

Beyond the ample carnivores

Urban wildlife is often mistaken to beryllium constricted to leopards, snakes and kites, but experts archer you to look retired for much commonly spotted ones that are often ignored.

“Historically, the metropolis has been location to a divers scope of wildlife. For instance, determination is simply a 10th-century monument wrong the Indian Institute of Science campus, known arsenic a ‘Huli bete’ veeragallu, a leader chromatic commemorating the slaying of a tiger. In caller years, encounters with leopards person besides go progressively frequent. However, municipality wildlife should not conscionable evoke images of ample carnivores. The smaller creatures, specified arsenic the harmless shrew, the barn owl that catches rodents astatine night, the squirrel that scurries crossed our balcony, the shrieking telephone of the slender loris, oregon the location crow, are each forms of municipality wildlife,” said Seshadri K.S., ecologist and module subordinate astatine the Ashoka Trust for Research successful Ecology and the Environment, Bengaluru.

While immoderate taxon person adapted to surviving among humans, overmuch of municipality wildlife contiguous is confined to parks, wetlands, and organization campuses, which are the remnants of greenish spaces successful the city, helium said.

Bengaluru’s unsocial position

The immense scope of municipality wildlife successful Bengaluru tin beryllium attributed to its unsocial positioning. “Bengaluru is among the fewer cities successful India that are surrounded by 2 protected areas: the Bannerghatta National Park to the southbound and the recently formed Hessarghatta Grassland Conservation Reserve, successful the north,” said Seshadri. 

Col. Shariff adds that Bengaluru besides stands retired due to the fact that its municipality maturation and biology changes are inactive accelerating, dissimilar galore different ample cities wherever enlargement has slowed.

“The city’s population, present estimated astatine implicit 14 million, is rising each twelvemonth and contributing to expanding traffic, operation pressure, and pollution. Rapid urbanisation has besides led to a crisp diminution successful earthy spaces. Studies amusement Bengaluru’s built-up country has much than doubled implicit the past 3 decades, portion histrion screen and municipality wood patches proceed to shrink. As the metropolis continues to turn rapidly, earthy habitats are being disturbed and fragmented, starring to much displaced wildlife and much human-animal interactions,” helium said.

T.V. Ramachandra from the Center of Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, expanded connected this: “Unplanned urbanisation starring to municipality enlargement — encroaching buffer zones of eco-sensitive regions specified arsenic Bannerghatta National Park and Cauvery Sanctuary — and diminution successful the carnal situation is the premier crushed for human-animal conflicts. Too galore townships, industries, roads, mining, and dumping of metropolis coagulated wastes, successful the buffer zones person fragmented carnal habitats. Naturally, animals stray into quality habitations successful hunt of food, fodder and water. Almost 87% of the metropolis scenery is covered with paved surfaces isolated from municipality sprawl happening successful the buffer zones.”

Encroachments, conflicts and challenges

Those surviving astir Bannerghatta National Park, and those warring for its conservation, raised alarm astir the threats faced by the park.

“Man–animal struggle astir Bannerghatta National Park has importantly accrued successful caller years. There person been aggregate instances of leopard deaths and predominant leopard sightings, including sightings of leopards with cubs adjacent quality settlements. Elephants person been raiding ragi fields, starring to important harvest loss. There person been fatal encounters with elephants, resulting successful quality deaths. There person been instances of Indian bison straying into layouts, destroying spot and coming into nonstop interaction with residents,” said a subordinate of the Bannerghatta Nature Conservation Trust.

The emergence successful struggle is mostly owed to expanding anthropogenic unit astir the protected area, the subordinate said.

“The cardinal reasons see deficiency of enforcement successful the Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ). The ESZ Monitoring Committee has not regularly audited oregon monitored violations. Although the ESZ was yet notified successful 2020, the required Zonal Master Plan is inactive not prepared, starring to unplanned and unregulated onshore use. Parts of the ESZ person been reduced successful bid to accommodate developmental and commercialized interests, shrinking buffer zones indispensable for wildlife safety. There is 24/7 postulation done roads cutting crossed the National Park, disturbing wildlife question and expanding the likelihood of animal–vehicle collisions,” said the member.

He pointed to unapproved existent property developments coming up close on the bound of the nationalist park, and successful pockets wrong areas specified arsenic Ragihalli and Shivanahalli, arsenic good arsenic projects similar the Peripheral Ring Road (PPR) and the Gottigere–Begur Business Corridor fragmenting wildlife corridors and shrinking the ESZ.

Ramachandra called for contiguous action: decongesting Bengaluru, and stopping ‘illogical projects’.

On the different hand, Seshadri termed urbanisation an ongoing process. “A fewer years ago, my colleagues and I studied however the Rock Agama is disappearing from the city, and we recovered that the beingness of rocks and somesthesia were important drivers. Whatever Rock Agama’s that are left, often get crushed connected the roadworthy by passing vehicles. Recently, we examined the presumption of amphibians successful the metropolis and recovered 11 taxon crossed the city. Interestingly, we did not find a crisp quality successful the fig of taxon betwixt the wetlands successful the metropolis centre and those acold away. However, we documented signs of degradation, with wetlands contaminated by sewage and garbage strewn around. While suitable habitats exist, they are often sub-optimal, and we fishy it’s lone a substance of clip earlier the frogs get eliminated from the astir urbanized areas,” helium said, offering an example.

The constituent is, helium said, urbanisation cannot beryllium stopped. What we request to bash is measurement up and program our cities better, making them livable not simply successful presumption of amended roads and cleanable air, but besides putting successful the effort to guarantee the integrity of our ecosystems is not compromised. 

Misconceptions

Rescuers accidental that ultimately, protecting municipality wildlife requires a displacement successful mindset — 1 grounded successful co-existence.

“Misconceptions besides signifier perceptions of definite species. Bats and owls are often feared arsenic carriers of disease, oregon seen arsenic atrocious omens, erstwhile successful information they play a captious relation successful controlling insects, pollinating plants, and dispersing seeds. Snakes, meanwhile, often trigger panic due to the fact that of the fearfulness of bites. Most municipality encounters, however, are purely accidental. Snakes mostly debar humans and volition fly if fixed the chance, each portion softly helping to power rodent populations and support ecological balance,” said Subiksha.

Overall, the biggest misconception is that these animals are a menace oregon don’t beryllium successful cities — erstwhile successful reality, they are an important portion of the municipality ecosystem. “As earthy spaces shrink, animals are adapting to survive, and coexistence is some imaginable and necessary,” concluded Col. Shariff.