<p>Crop raiding by wild herbivores close to an area of
protected wildlife is a serious problem that can potentially undermine
conservation efforts. Since there is orders of magnitude difference between
farmers’ perception of damage and the compensation given by the government, an
objective and realistic estimate of damage was found essential. We employed
four different approaches to estimate the extent of and patterns in crop damage
by wild herbivores along the western boundary of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in
the state of Maharashtra, central India. These approaches highlight different
aspects of the problem but converge on an estimated damage of over 50% for the
fields adjacent to the forest, gradually reducing in intensity with distance.
We found that the visual damage assessment method currently employed by the
government for paying compensation to farmers was uncorrelated to and grossly
underestimated actual damage. The findings necessitate a radical rethinking of
policies to assess, mitigate as well as compensate for crop damage caused by
protected wildlife species.</p