This study analyzed unprecedented 34,596 geo-stamped human-wildlife conflict (HWC) incidents from 2019–2023 in Karnataka’s Southern Western Ghats reveals critical insights into spatio-temporal dynamics. Predominated by human–elephant conflicts (92.1% of incidents, 87.4% of compensation), the data also includes human–carnivore and other conflicts, with elephants, tigers, leopards, wild boars, and gaurs driving 99.6% of cases. By integrating geospatial layers—land use, tree loss (5741 ha over 20 years), elevation (1000–1500 m), roads (53%), and settlements—with advanced tools like spatial grid analysis, clustering, kernel density estimation, and kriging, the study identifies key conflict drivers. The resulting HWC clusters and hotspots offer actionable insights for management, with global applications for similar landscapes.
