KOCHI: For centuries the tribal community in Kerala has lived in harmony with nature, conserving the forest and sharing space with wild animals. However, in recent years there has been a spike in deaths of tribal people due to wild animal attacks and most of these incidents happen inside the forest.
According to the data released by Kerala Independent Farmers Association (KIFA), as many as 34 people have died in elephant attacks in 2025 (Jan - Dec) and 19 of the victims are members of tribal community. The state witnessed four deaths in tiger attacks during the same period and three victims belong to the tribal community.
The forest department has been conducting workshops to revive traditional knowledge of the tribal community to mitigate human-wild animal conflict. According to top officials, forest officers who visited settlements located deep inside the forest had tried to educate the members to be vigilant while moving inside the forest and to travel in groups. Conservationists allege that many youngsters plug in earphones and hear music while walking through forest. Another reason is consumption of liquor.
“It is true that the new generation has lost the connect with nature. Our ancestors knew when the streams in forest will dry up and which route the wild animals will travel in search of water. We have been traditionally taught to understand the presence of wild animals through smell and sounds,” said B V Bolan, mooppan (tribal head) of Cheeyambam settlement in Sultan Bathery, Wayanad.
“The old generation knew which area the wild animals will be moving in the forenoon and afternoon. So we used to avoid travelling through such places. There has been a change in the behaviour of elephants in recent times. This is due to the aggressive ways adopted by people to drive away elephants including throwing fireballs and firing pellets. My grandfather used to say that we should listen to the calls given by monkeys and squirrels while moving through the forest. These are warning calls to alert us about the presence of wild animals,” he said.
According to conservationists, the tribal community has lost its traditional values while adapting to the modern world. “The government should promote the traditional knowledge of tribal people and return the land they lost due to migration of farmers to forest areas. The tribals used to cultivate millets and had good correlation with wild animals. They used to worship the trees and hills. It is the government initiative to integrate them with the outside world that destroyed their culture,” said activist M N Jayachandran.
The tribal community had their traditional ways of living in harmony with wild animals, but the new generation has distanced themselves from the surroundings, said Kerala Forest Research Institute principal scientist A V Raghu.
“There was a time when tribal community worshipped the forest as god. But now they are no more dependent on forest produces. They surv ive on subsidised rice given by government and the youngsters work as labourers to earn a living. The old generation had traditional ways to drive away wild animals entering their farmlands. After they got individual rights on land people became selfish. The cultivation of pineapple and plantains in forest fringes attract wild animals to farmlands which increases conflict. The community has lost its sensory skills which is the basic reason for the rise in conflict deaths,” he said.