COIMBATORE: Of the total 55 human deaths that occurred due to wild elephant attacks between 1994 and 2025 in the Valparai plateau, 40 victims were unaware of the elephant's presence, while the remaining 15 deaths occurred due to various reasons, including cases of victims with mental disorders and panic.
Moreover, 48 deaths were avoidable, with cases ranging from the lack of proper street lights to the lack of toilets, leaving victims in the open.
The Tamil Nadu forest department, with the help of the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), has been implementing various alerts to inform about elephant presence in their locality, as part of preventing the human-elephant interactions.
Sending 2,500 SMS texts daily, sensor-based alert systems, Thadam WhatsApp groups, public announcements, and meetings with stakeholders, along with a Rapid Response Team, are measures in place to prevent human-animal conflicts in the Valparai plateau.
The study found that 32 of 55 deaths occurred on roads, 33 people died between December and February, and the ages of the 34 people who died were between 41 and 60 years. Out of 55 deaths, 35 were men, and 16 were women.
More than 70,000 people live in Valparai. About 120 to 140 wild elephants use the Valparai plateau, spread over 220 km, of which 21,253 hectares are cultivated.
NCF scientist M Ananda Kumar said that due to the collective efforts of the department and NCF, a total of 39 lives have been saved between 1994 and 2025. What was an average of three human deaths per year between 1994 and 2002, was reduced to one death per year between 2003 and 2025.
"Some years have been without human fatalities. However, momentary decisions in panic led to the loss of five lives in 2024 and 2025," said Ananda Kumar.
Moreover, the elephants targeting ration shops have been reduced by 45% after the implementation of such SMS-based and WhatsApp group alerts about elephant movements. "It is an urgent need to provide street lights and attached toilets, along with medical facilities in cases of emergency, along with periodic training for RRT teams to deal with human-animal conflict.
Moreover, orientation for migrant workers, effective tracking, planning and facilitating free passage for elephants, and expansion of early warning systems to provide safety to people are also needed," said Anandakumar.