Wildlife conservation is typically achieved by excluding, evacuating or alienating the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs). This fortress conservation approach has led to uprooting, ongoing distress and despondency among many IPLCs worldwide. However, in the expansive and deep forests of the Western Ghats, India, the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (BRTWS) offers a prime conservation exemplar where tribal (Adivasi) people, the Soligas, have been living with wild animals, especially tigers, leopards, elephants and managing forest resources for millennia. We provide an integrated ecological, socio-cultural and policy analysis of Soligas living in the Biligiri landscape, applying Ostrom’s socio-ecological framework.