Human population increases and development in Northeast India have reduced and fragmented wildlife habitat, which has resulted in human-wildlife conflicts. Although species such as tigers (Panthera tigris) and rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) cause conflict, elephants (Elephas maximus) have become the focal point for conflict and conservation issues.

Carnivore conservation depends on the sociopolitical landscape as much as the biological landscape. Changing political attitudes and views of nature have shifted the goals of carnivore management from those based on fear and narrow economic interests to those based on a better understanding of ecosystem function and adaptive management.

As a young man, David Western spent four years herding cattle and goats with red-robed Masai tribesmen in the Kenyan bush. There, he found something remarkable. While cattle grazing is believed to lead to deforestation and the destruction of wildlife, Western learned what the Masai already knew: his cattle fertilized the land and actually improved its diversity.

A major conservation issue, particularly in the tropics, is habitat loss and fragmentation due to developmental activities and increasing human populations.