NEW DELHI: The past three years have witnessed a worrying increase in elephant casualties caused by train collisions, electrocutions, poaching, and poisoning. Also, incidents of human casualties due to attacks by wild elephants have risen as these jumbos venture out of their natural forest habitats, a trend that continued from 2021-2022 to 2023-2024.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change recently reported in the Rajya Sabha that 47 elephants had died from being hit by running trains across various forested states. This figure includes 17 deaths in 2023-24 and 15 in both 2021-22 and 2022-23.
The government data shared with the Upper House indicated that electrocutions have emerged as a significant threat to the lives of wild elephants. According to data, 258 elephants were electrocuted over the past three years. The year 2022-23 reported the highest number of electrocutions of elephants, with 100 of them dying.
Poaching continued to take its toll, with 27 elephants reported dead from poaching-related activities in the same period. Moreover, 11 jumbos were killed through poisoning.
Besides, the rising incidents of human casualties due to attacks by elephants exacerbate the situation in several states with wider forest covers. The fatalities increased from 549 in 2021-22 to 629 in 2023-24, totalling 1,783 human casualties reported from across the country over the past three years. These incidents reflect the escalating tension between humans and elephants, often caused by habitat encroachment and lack of proper mitigation measures.
The government has validated 150 elephant corridors across 15 elephant range states in response to these alarming statistics. These corridors are intended to provide safe passage for elephants.