THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Human-wildlife conflict fatalities in the state dropped to 43 in 2025-26, the lowest in a decade since 2016-17. The conflicts claimed 144 human lives in Kerala in the 2016-17 fiscal, data from the forest department showed. The highest toll, 147, was reported in 2018-19.
The most major drop was registered in snakebite deaths, from 119 in 2016-17 to 18 in 2025-26 as of Saturday. Officials attributed the decline to growing public awareness and better use of the SARPA app.
Though snakebites mostly occur in non-forest areas, these are included under human-wildlife conflicts as compensation for snakebite fatalities is provided by the forest department. There were 34 snakebite deaths each in 2023-24 and 2024-25. The year 2018-19 reported 123 deaths due to snakebites, the highest in the decade.
Meanwhile, human lives lost to conflicts with elephants dipped from 23 in 2016-17 to 18 in 2025-26. The most elephant-related fatalities, 35, were reported in 2021-22. Officials said solar fences, early alerts and closer habitat monitoring made a difference.
Farmers’ outfit challenges forest dept claim, highlights variation in figures
Wild boars, which emerged as an unpredictable danger, killing 11 people each in the past two years, accounted for four deaths in 2025-26. The sudden drop suggests that intensified capture drives and preventive measures have yielded results.
However, the recent order restricting the gunning down of wild boars to a small pool of licensed firearm holders has sparked concerns among farmers and local body authorities, who fear it could slow down ongoing efforts.
Though tiger fatalities are not driving overall human-wildlife conflict numbers, a gradual uptick in recent years suggests increasing interface between tiger habitats and human activity. There were 11 deaths in 10 years since 2016-17. Of these, three deaths were reported in 2025-26 alone.
The state has approximately 16,000 km of forest boundaries, with around 4,000 km identified as areas prone to human-wildlife conflicts. Nearly 1,000 human habitations are located within forest regions.
“Our goal is to bring the death rate down to zero. Nearly 80% of elephant attack fatalities occurred inside forests, mostly among tribal communities. We are strengthening awareness programmes in tribal settlements and examining the possibility of voluntary relocation of families who requested it from extreme conflict-prone areas. Also, most of the tiger-related fatalities were reported from within forest areas, while all wild boar-related deaths were reported from areas outside forests,” said Pramod G Krishnan, chief wildlife warden
“We need to act collectively to address human-wildlife conflict-related issues. It is heartening to note that the control measures implemented in these regions have begun to show positive results,” he said.
Contesting the claim, Kerala Independent Farmers Association (KIFA) chairman Alex Ozhukayil said while snakebite fatalities have declined, deaths caused by elephant and other wild animals remain a serious concern. Citing KIFA data, he said 35 people were killed in elephant attacks in 2025 alone.
“We follow the calendar year, while the forest department follows the financial year beginning in April, which creates a six-month variation in data. Even so, it would be inaccurate to claim fatalities have seen a sharp decline,” he said.