23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Wildlife
On the Precipice

On the precipice overlooking a Himalayan village, a brown bear pauses—standing at the literal and figurative edge of its shrinking world. In these borderlands the line between wilderness and human presence is rapidly fading. The Himalayan brown bear, now finds itself at the boundary of its vanishing habitat, with human habitation expanding deeper into the mountains. Is this the face of coexistence—or the prelude to conflict?

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 04.2025
Date Uploaded: 12.2025
Photo Location: India
Camera: FC4382
Copyright: © Sandesh Kadur