KOCHI: In April 3, residents of Vadakkanadu in Wayanad district breathed easy as the forest department’s Rapid Response Team cornered ‘Muttikomban’, the wild tusker that had been spreading terror in the locality for over a month.
On March 31, a male tiger that killed 18 cattle in three months was captured by the forest department at Pambanmala near Munnar. The five-year-old tiger was released in the Periyar Tiger Reserve on April 2.
These are samples of what’s becoming ‘regular news’ in villages located on the forest fringes. Elephants, tigers, leopards, Indian gaur and other wild animals frequently stray into human habitations, destroying crops and attacking people. Thousands have abandoned their farmlands and migrated to towns.
While election campaigns in the midlands and coastal areas focus on development issues, the key election issue in the high ranges is the human-wildlife conflict that has compounded the livelihood crisis triggered by the decline in prices of farm products.
Youngsters in the high ranges are migrating to towns, as they are not getting brides. Even farmers in the highlands are not willing to marry off their children to youths living in forest fringes due to fear of wild animals. After all, even churches are forced to wind up midnight mass early on Christmas Eve to ensure that people reach their homes safely.
Farmer organisations have released a set of demands and declared that they would vote only for those candidates who include these demands in their manifesto.
The demands include demarcation of forest boundaries, removing animals living in human habitations from the ambit of the Wildlife Protection Act, and granting the right to defend lives and property from wild animals straying into farmlands.
“We are unable to cultivate our land as wild animals like elephants, Indian gaur, wild pigs, monkeys, deer and Malabar squirrels are raiding crops,” said Gopi, a farmer at Vadakkanad in Wayanad.
“People are desperate to leave, but we are not even able to sell our lands as real estate prices have crashed. Youngsters, both boys and girls, are not getting marriage proposals as outsiders are rejecting alliances from these areas.”
R Ajayan, a farmer in Idukki’s Santhanpara panchayat, echoed the frustration. “Anayirangal in Chinnakanal is a natural wild elephant habitat. In 2001, the A K Antony government set up a tribal settlement called the 301 Colony here,” he said.
“Most residents of the colony have vacated the land fearing elephant attacks, as the settlement was in the core area of elephant habitat. Now, elephant herds frequent B L Ram, Singukandam and Suryanelli areas. If the government clears encroachments from elephant habitats, the conflict may end.”
Forest officials say the department has initiated steps to mitigate the issue. The state has mapped 273 panchayats in 75 assembly constituencies where wildlife conflict has been reported.
The mitigation plan includes installation of solar fences, digging elephant trenches, erecting elephant walls and rail barriers. Rapid Response Teams have been deployed in all conflict zones, and night patrols have been strengthened in high-risk areas. “We have installed the Animal Intrusion Detection and Repellent System — a solar-powered, AI-enabled and infrared-based system to drive away wild elephants in high-risk zones,” said a senior officer.
“These systems will make noise and beam lights after detecting the presence of wild animals. Besides, digital sensor walls, camera traps and animal intrusion alert systems have been installed.”
Notably, the department has captured and relocated 138 wild animals that posed a threat to human life over the past five years. These include 52 tigers, 62 leopards and 24 elephants. Stakeholders, however, maintain that official apathy is responsible for the crisis.
“As many as 34 people were killed by wild elephants in 2025, while four people were killed and devoured by tigers. We need concrete steps to ensure zero human casualties,” said Catholic Congress global director Fr Philip Kaviyil.
“There should be a swift action protocol to identify, track and capture man-eaters and aggressive elephants. This is not just a wildlife protection issue, but a human rights issue. We will support only those candidates who assure action on farmers’ issues.”