Elephant Attack

'450 families evicted from Assam's forest to reduce man-elephant conflict'

Around 2,000 "illegal settlers" belonging to 450 families were evicted on Tuesday from 55-60 hectares of forest land in Goalpara district of Assam, an official said. Several government installations were also removed from that area during the eviction drive which will help prevent man-elephant conflict, he said. The exercise was carried out at Bandarmatha Reserve Forest, spread across 118 hectares, in Lakhipur Range in presence of a heavy posse of security personnel and civil and forest officials. "The eviction drive is being carried out as per a Gauhati High Court order directing that all reserve forest areas in Goalpara be cleared of encroachments. Man-elephant conflict is the highest in Goalpara in the entire country," Goalpara Divisional Forest Officer Tejas Mariswamy said. After clearing the area, an afforestation drive will be carried out and make it suitable for elephant habitation, he added. "We are clearing 55-60 hectares. Around 450 families consisting of about 2,000 peo

If we save elephants, forests will prosper: Union Minister Bhupender Yadav

Union minister Bhupender Yadav has said if elephants are saved, the forests will prosper as the tuskers serve to protect them and called for steps to reduce human-elephant conflicts in the country. Elephants have been an integral part of religious and cultural traditions in India, Yadav said on Monday. Addressing an event organised in Raipur on the occasion of World Elephant Day, the Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change highlighted the efforts being made by the government for pachyderm conservation through a range of participatory efforts. "In India, elephants have been a part of religious and cultural traditions. If we save elephants, the forests will prosper as elephants are actual rangers of forests and serve to protect them," he stated. Yadav stressed on the need to reduce human-elephant conflicts, a problem also prevalent in parts of Chhattisgarh, in the country. There are 33 elephant reserves and 150 corridors for the pachyderms in the country, he said. The .

World Elephant Day 2024: Know history, significance, theme and more

The world observes World Elephant Day every year on August 12 to raise awareness about the plight of elephants and their conservation

Over 2,500 people died in 5 years in human-elephant conflicts: Govt data

Human-elephant conflicts resulted in 2,853 human deaths during the past five years, with the number of fatalities reaching a five-year high of 628 in 2023, according to government data. Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh on Thursday said "elephants caused" 587 human deaths in 2019, 471 in 2020, 557 in 2021, 610 in 2022 and 628 in 2023. The data revealed that Odisha recorded 624 such deaths during this period, followed by Jharkhand with 474, West Bengal with 436, Assam with 383, Chhattisgarh with 303, Tamil Nadu with 256, Karnataka with 160 and Kerala with 124. The minister said the management of wildlife habitats was primarily the responsibility of state governments and Union Territory administrations and that the central government provided financial and technical support under the centrally sponsored Project Tiger & Elephant scheme for the protection of animals, their habitats and corridors, addressing ...

Kerala CM Vijayan to hold urgent meeting to review animal attacks: Minister

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has convened an urgent meeting on March 14 to discuss the issue of increasing occurrences of human-animal conflict in the state, Forest Minister AK Saseendran said on Wednesday. Saseendran said that wild animals, including elephants, cannot be stopped from coming out of the forests by only implementing the preventive measures being followed currently. "We also need to take steps to keep the animals inside the forests in tune with the changes in human settlements," he told reporters. The minister said that in the meeting to be held tomorrow, besides strengthening the preventive measures, he also expects that directions would be issued to explore ideas to ensure that wild animals stay inside forests. His statement came in response to reporters' queries about unconfirmed reports of elephants entering inhabited areas in Munnar area of Idukki district today morning. When asked about an elephant found in a weak condition in Athirappilly area of ...

Man-animal conflict: Bhupender Yadav calls for sympathetic, tech approach

Wayanad has witnessed several incidents of wild elephant attacks, including the recent death of a forest department watcher

Human-animal conflicts: Bhupendra Yadav to visit Wayanad to address issue

Days after Wayanad in Kerala witnessed violent protests over the death of three people in wild animal attacks, Union Minister for Environment and Forest Bhupendra Yadav on Wednesday said the situation is very grave there so he has called senior scientists from Wildlife Institute of India and will also be meeting the victims. A district-wide hartal call was given by all three major political fronts in Wayanad to protest against the increasing number of wild animal attacks in the region with the latest being on Friday where an eco-tourism guide of the Forest department was killed by a wild tusker near Kuruva island. "There is a conflict situation and I am going to Wayanad. We feel that the situation is very grave. So, I called senior scientists from WII (Wildlife Institute of India), state and Central officials. My officers have apprised me of the situation. I will go and meet the victims as well and we will take appropriate call," he told reporters at the Kempegowda International ...

Cong leader Rahul meets families of elephant attack victims in Wayanad

Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday visited the houses of two victims of the recent wild elephant attacks in this high range district, and consoled their family members. Gandhi reached neighbouring Kannur district on Saturday night after halting his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Varanasi abruptly in the wake of intense protests by locals seeking solutions to the human-animal conflicts in his constituency. From Kannur, he proceeded to Wayanad by road and was accompanied by AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal and other local leaders. He spent over 20 minutes at the house of Aji (42), who was trampled to death by a radio-collared elephant in the Mananthavady area of Wayanad district triggering massive protests last week. Later, he visited the residence of Paul, an eco-tourism guide of the forest department who was killed by a wild tusker near Kuruva island on Friday and spent some time there. The MP is also expected to visit the house of Prajeesh who was killed in a ti

Officials asked to find new place to shift wild tusker: Kerala Minister

The Kerala Forest Minister AK Saseendran on Tuesday, directed the forest officials to find a new place for shifting the rice-eating tusker, 'Arikomban'

WB govt plans to appoint 600 young 'gajamitras' to protect elephants

In order to check the rising incidents of human-elephant conflict (HEC), West Bengal has launched a unique human-driven initiative, named "Gajamitra (Friends of Elephants)"

Shrinking forests, habitats leading to rising man-elephant conflict

With the degradation of forests and shrinking of habitats, human-elephant conflicts are rising in the northeastern states, mainly in Assam and Tripura, with 971 people being killed by wild elephants

Chhattisgarh's elephantine problem

A rail corridor in the state's coal belt that cuts through the elephant route has put the animal in direct conflict with humans