Research overview: distance to forest edge as a predictor of depredation

This overview synthesises the widely replicated finding that proximity to forest or natural cover strongly predicts big-cat depredation on livestock, with attacks declining as distance from the forest edge increases. It reviews studies across leopard, tiger, lion, and snow leopard systems showing that cats use edge cover to ambush livestock and that settlements and grazing nearest forest bear the heaviest losses. The literature discusses the practical implications, prioritising mitigation at forest-edge villages, managing grazing distance, and reducing cover near enclosures, and the interaction with prey availability and husbandry. The survey frames the edge effect as one of the most consistent spatial regularities in depredation research, anchoring many predictive models and targeting strategies.