THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A forest department study on the man-animal conflict in the state has revealed that as many as 2,771 such incidents took place over the past six months, resulting in 22 casualties. Most of those deaths resulted from snake bites (14). While four persons lost their lives to elephant attacks, three deaths were attributed to wild boars and one to a porcupine.
The department rolled out the first-of-its-kind study in a bid to find a lasting solution to the menace that has thrown a spanner in its efforts to take the public on board in conservation activities. The department relied on the data provided by the Rapid Response Teams (RRT) and 36 forest emergency operations centres to prepare the statistics.
According to the study carried out from April 1 to September 30, wild elephants featured in 2,518 incidents, which resulted in 31 people sustaining injuries as well. In more than half of the incidents (1,735), no damage was reported while crop damage was reported in 623 incidents. Property damage was reported in 172 incidents. The pachyderms wreaked havoc mostly in Wayanad, Idukki, Palakkad, Thrissur, Pathanamthitta, Kannur and Malappuram districts.
Big cats leopards and tiger came next in terms of the number of conflicts. Leopards were involved in 141 incidents and tigers in 49. There were no human casualties in these incidents, while 78 instances of cattle loss were reported during the attacks -- 55 by leopards and 23 by tigers.
Forest department sources said, in the case of wild boars and porcupine, they were indirectly responsible for the deaths. “In those cases, these animals reportedly hit the two-wheeler riders resulting in fatal road accidents,” a source said.
The department decided on the study to assess the extent of man-animal conflict in the state and to analyse it scientifically. Forest and Wildlife Minister A K Saseendran said he was hopeful that the census on man-animal conflict will play a role in resolving the issue.
“The intention is to check for seasonal trends in terms of these conflicts. For example, if the conflicts involving elephants were found to be peaking in a particular month, then we can take precautionary measures more effectively,” the minister said.