Bhubaneswar: Human fatalities in elephant attacks in Odisha are the highest in the country, with 17 people killed per 100 elephants, according to data compiled by Wildlife Society of Odisha, an NGO, from the census carried out by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) last year. The figure is substantially higher than other states like Karnataka and Kerala which have more elephants, and reported one human death per 100 elephants.The report, ‘Status of Elephants in India: DNA-based Synchronous All India Population Estimation of Elephants, 2025′, on the exercise carried out by WII put Karnataka and Kerala elephant numbers at 6,013 and 2,785, respectively, compared to Odisha’s 912.Biswajit Mohanty, a wildlife conservationist, said, “Assuming the WII DNA-based figure is accurate, Odisha reports a very high rate of human deaths compared with its elephant population, as the WII study is for all states and not for Odisha only. Second, many believe that the WII study invariably shows a lower population trend. But in that case also, Kerala’s 6,000-plus population and human deaths give a marginal casualty ratio and not alarming as Odisha.” Mohanty said that even if Odisha’s own elephant census figure (2,103) is taken as accurate, human deaths per 100 elephants comes to 7, which is still high compared to other states.Conservationists claimed the forest department usually blames early morning open defecation by villagers as the major reason for rising elephant attacks, with families losing their earning members, farmers, firewood collectors or food gatherers.Sources said that though the state govt paid Rs 3.67 crore to a private consultant in 2016 for a wildlife conflict mitigation plan, nothing has materialised yet. Since 2019-20, human fatalities have risen sharply, crossing 115, and in 2024-25, touching 171.“Elephant movement in corridors is severely affected as they have been degraded by quarrying and development work. The forest department didn’t notify 14 identified corridors, though a govt decision was taken in 2012,” Mohanty said.PCCF (wildlife) Prem Kumar Jha said awareness and sensitisation are two important components in tackling human-elephant conflict. “Even in elephant zones, people are coming in the way of the animals despite knowing past incidents. Early morning firewood collection and answering to nature’s call are known factors in the conflict. We are trying to sensitise people to remain alert,” he told TOI.
