Walking the Line

Senthil Kumaran speaks to Natasha Desai from the front lines of the prolonged struggle for territory between humans and tigers.

India is in the unique position of being home to 70% of the world’s rising tiger population due to successful conservation efforts, according to a government report. It is also home to 50 tiger reserves, geared towards getting this majestic animal off the endangered list. These heartening reports, however, are often punctuated by the severity of the conflict between humans living on the fringes of these areas.

“For several centuries, both the tribal people and animals have lived together in the forest. With increasing deforestation in India, both animals and the people have started to fight with each other for their survival,” says Senthil Kumaran, who for the last five years of his decade long career in photography has travelled the length and breadth of India, covering the clashes between people and the big cat. With natural green spaces reducing drastically, tigers often prey on livestock and in some cases, on humans too.