THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Yet another human life was lost on the forest fringes on Wednesday, taking the death toll in Kerala from wild-animal attacks in 2023-24 to 93. A visibly shaken state government has declared human-wildlife conflict a state-specific disaster, making way for action plans to resolve the crisis. The killing of people in human habitations poses poignant questions over the scope of and rationale behind the much-debated coexistence theory.
An unprecedented number of animal attacks, leading to increased loss of lives, threatens a volatile scenario on the state’s forest fringes. Notwithstanding the hue and cry, such conflicts are here to stay, unless and until, collective efforts are taken up in full earnest, for qualitative resolution of the quandary.
Although widespread incidents have been reported in Idukki, Palakkad, Malappuram and Kannur, Wayanad stands out due to obvious reasons. In 2023-24, five lives were lost to elephant attacks here while one died in a tiger attack. As many as 69 deaths were reported between 2011 and 2024. The Wayanad forest is part of a wider region comprising Nagarhole, Bandipur and Mudumalai.
Soaring temperatures have been pointed out as a primary reason why animal attacks increase during this time of the year. Experts point to a few other significant reasons. Eco-tourism activities, constructions, in addition to DJ parties and festivals along the fringes have been attributed to animals moving out of the woods.
Soaring temperatures
Rising temperatures in February and March this year is one of the reasons why animals are increasingly moving towards human habitats, observed Kerala State Disaster Management Authority member secretary Sekhar Lukose Kuriakose. “The increasing heat regime plays a significant role in making these animals venture out to revenue land. It’s one of the major reasons. Why would they otherwise venture out now? There’s a seasonality to it,” he pointed out.
A large portion of the state’s jungles comprise deciduous forests, characterised by trees or plants that shed leaves annually. The presence of invasive plant species such as Senna spectabilis further contribute to animals moving to greener patches outside, which mostly consist of farmlands and human habitations.
“Wild elephants usually travel for around 16 hours a day, in search of food. When they find more nutritious and easily available food like plantain or paddy within 10-12 hours of travel, they tend to get attracted to farmlands. Elephants tend to go in search of better nutritious food,” pointed out an expert.
Kerala’s forests have water bodies within every 2.5 sqkm. With the rising heat, there’s a tendency for animals from forests in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, too, to move to these patches in search of water. There are human settlements along the way, which increase the chance of animal engagements.
Being a thickly populated state, Kerala has numerous human enclosures within fragmented forest patches. Going by rough statistics, the state has close to 750 enclosures including tribal settlements and non-tribal habitats. In Wayanad alone, there are 107 settlements within the fragmented forest patches.
Why only Kerala?
Contrary to public perception, Kerala is not the only state where animals trespass into human abodes. In fact, compared to many other states, the numbers are much lower in Kerala. Going by reports, around 100 people are killed in elephant attacks in Jharkhand. Similarly, close to 150 deaths from elephant attacks were reported in Karnataka in the last five years.
“It’s a mistaken notion that such incidents occur only in Kerala. Here, the public tend to however raise their voices through protests. There’s also a vigilant media. While in states like Karnataka and Maharashtra, such protests are absent,” a senior forest official pointed out.
Regulated hunting key: Gadgil
Prominent ecologist Madhav Gadgil has been batting for restricted hunting. No other country in the world has a total ban on regulated hunting, as proposed in the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, he points out.
“The law of ecology is simple. Any animal that survives will have their numbers go up unfettered, unless there’s a regulating mechanism in place. Everywhere else in the world, there are regulatory steps to check such rising numbers. Restricted hunting is the only option before us. The elephant population is on the rise. Of course, all sorts of construction activities and plantations add to the rising number of human-animal conflicts,” Gadgil said.
Wildlife experts, however, beg to differ as they feel it will work only in a sanitised social environment where people are aware of the significance of forest and wildlife.
Fund allocation concerns
Despite the rise in incidence of wild-animal attacks, the budgetary allocation — for compensation and preventive measures — often falls short. “The amount set aside in the last budget for compensation to families of victims was a meagre `1.26 crore. When it came up for discussion in the assembly subject committee, both ruling and Opposition legislators demanded sufficient allocation, following which it was revised to `23 crore,” said an MLA.
The current budget has set apart `48.85 crore for preventive measures. The assembly panel has been demanding more concrete steps to address the issue on a long-term basis. In addition to more fund allocation for compensation, there should be better preventing steps too in place, the panel said.
What forest dept can do?
The department alone cannot address the menace, which calls for a collective approach involving different departments, the public and stakeholders. A slew of short-term solutions have been put in place, said Pramod Krishnan, APCC (administration).
“The measures include setting up rapid response teams (RRTs), real-time alerts, and monitoring using drones, in addition to inter-state coordination to alert animal movements. Similarly, steps have been taken to provide immediate assistance to victims,” he said.
What’s the lasting solution?
Improving the quality of forests would prove to be the only lasting solution to the issue in Kerala, say observers. Most of state’s forests are not contiguous, but highly fragmented. Reducing the fragmentation and patchiness would be the only solution. The government has been working towards convincing residents to shift their settlements outside forests.
Similarly, expanding plantations have affected the quality of natural forests. The Eco-Restoration Policy, 2021 aims to restore 27,000 hectares with acacia and eucalyptus plantations in the state. The move has triggered concern among residents along forest patches, who see it as an attempt to widen the forest cover, which would eventually affect human occupants in these areas.
“It’s not about shifting or relocating people. The aim should be to improve the quality of forests, and make them multi-cropped so as to keep animals within,” pointed out an expert.
Presence of invasive plant species is also attracting animals to human settlements
Deaths due to human-wildlife conflict in other states in 5 years
Odisha 499
Assam 385
West Bengal 358
Incidents of wild conflicts in Kerala in 2021-22
Deaths 114
Injured 758
Cattle loss 514
Property loss 6,580