RANCHI: In yet another incident of man-animal conflict in Jharkhand, 35-year-old man, Loknath Munda, was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Karma Sugiya Khira Beda area of Ramgarh on Friday.
This is the fifth such death in the last three days in Ramgarh itself, as four people were trampled to death by the herd of elephants in Ghatto OP area on Thursday.
Those who lost their lives on Thursday, include Amit Rajwar (33), Amul Mahto (35), Parvati Devi (40) and Savitri Devi (45).
According to officials, a herd of 42 elephants, divided into 6-7 separate groups, is active in this area, which is on a rampage, causing loss of life and property in the area.
Ramgarh DFO Nitish Kumar informed that ‘Hamar Haathi’ app provides information about the location of elephants within a radius of approximately 10 kilometers. He also appealed to people to move to a safe place if they receive information about elephants being in the area and to refrain from disturbing the elephants or taking photos or videos of them.
Notably, as per official data, more than 1270 people were killed in the last 18 years due to elephant attacks across Jharkhand.
Not only have humans lost their lives, but more than 150 elephants have also been killed due to electrocution, train accidents or IED blasts during these years.
According to data provided by the forest department, 474 people died in elephant attacks between 2019 and 2024. This includes 87 deaths in 2023, 96 in 2022, and the highest number, 133, in 2021. More than 16 deaths have already been reported in elephant attacks so far in 2025.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Wildlife, Paritosh Upadhyay, said that during the last three months alone, elephants have killed more than a dozen people.
The only way to prevent human-elephant conflict is to somehow guide the elephants deeper into the forests, he said. “A special team from the forest department has been deployed to safely guide the elephants deep into the forests,” said Upadhyay.
The cooperation of villagers is also being sought in this regard, he added. Wildlife experts said that human settlements have encroached right up to the edge of the forests, as a result, elephants venture into the villages and damage crops when they can't find food in the forests.
“The elephants only attack villagers when they try to chase them away. Looking at the trend of elephant-related human deaths, it becomes clear that elephants only kill people after being provoked or treated in a way they perceive as threatening,” said a wildlife expert, requesting anonymity.
It has also been observed that the wild elephants cause maximum damage only in the new areas which they have visited for the first time, he added.
Wildlife experts also said that proper awareness is required among the people in the elephant prone areas. Due to lack of knowledge, people unnecessarily disturb the elephants by throwing stones at them or taking selfies with them, which irritates them, prompting them to attack the human population, they said.
Looking at the problem, more than 17 elephant corridors have been notified in Jharkhand. In addition to that, a permission has also been sought from the Government of India to install radio collars on each of the female elephants leading the herds to make it easier to track them and guide the straying elephants back to the herd.