BHUBANESWAR: On average, 80 elephants died in Odisha every year since 2016-17. In a written reply to a question by Congress legislator Suresh Kumar Routray, Minister for Forest and Environment Bikram Keshari Arukha said 406 elephants have died between 2016-17 and 2020-21.
The Minister said that accidents claimed the lives of 162 elephants and electrocution led to the highest 54 deaths. Fourteen elephants were mowed down by trains. While four elephants were killed in road accidents, 90 lost their lives due to other reasons. He said 11 elephants were killed by poachers.
Odisha reported 282 elephant deaths from 2018 till August 31, 2021. Between 2018-19 and the first five months of 2021, one jumbo died almost every five days in the State. The highest number of elephant deaths (93) took place in 2018-19 followed by 82 in 2019-20, 77 in 2020-21 and 30 till the end of August this year. Anthrax and other diseases killed 95 elephants. As per the last census conducted in 2017, Odisha had 1,976 elephants.