Living with Leopards: Negotiating Morality and Modernity in Western India

The relationships between humans and large carnivores are complex and dynamic. In this article, we explore the emergence of two such relations through a case study from India, where humans and leopards share space and resources. These relations between humans and leopards emerge from two distinct ontological practices. One is the modern practice of conservation in which the human-leopard relationship is shaped through the creation of dichotomies. The other is a nonmodern practice that locates humans and leopards in a constellation of moral and social relations. In this article, we compare these two practices to highlight their inherent power dynamics and argue that both operate simultaneously by co-opting and accommodating each other. Theoretically, we argue that these interactions emerge from a located history of relations negotiated and ordered through the actions of different actors.