BHUBANESWAR: A 25-year assessment of human-elephant conflict in Odisha has found that elephant deaths are concentrated where forests meet mines, villages and transport networks.
The assessment report ‘Human-Elephant conflict in the state of Odisha (2000-2005): Trends, Challenges and Insights,’ prepared by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and Project Elephant extensively studied official records of state Forest department from 45 forest divisions over the quarter-century period.
The results were more on expected lines but refrained from making screaming conclusions and explored the host of the drivers and variables which makes Odisha one of the most intense conflict zones for elephants and humans in the entire country.
The report recorded a staggering 1,671 elephant deaths in the state between 2000 and 2025, with electrocution emerging as the leading anthropogenic (means caused, created, or influenced by human activity) cause of deaths. Of the total elephant deaths recorded during the 25-year period, at least 508, or around 30 per cent, were due to anthropogenic causes. The rest were linked to natural causes, including disease, physiological conditions, natural accidents and territorial fights.
The figure included death of 328 adult female, 283 adult male, 269 sub-adults, 222 juveniles and 246 calf, apart from 323 other cases in which the exact age group of the elephants remained unknown.
The elephant mortality model used by the report found that deaths were more likely in regions closer to mines, forests, protected areas, built-up areas, croplands and railways. Among these, proximity to mines showed the strongest association.
The finding is particularly significant in northern and central Odisha’s mineral-rich belt where mining, roads and railways and expanding settlements have fragmented forests and potentially disrupted elephant movement. However, the report ruled out any direct causation by any particular mine, railway line or village for elephant deaths. Rather, deaths tend to cluster in forest-mine-settlement landscapes where elephants moving out of relatively secure forest habitats encounter farms, villages, electricity networks and transport infrastructure.
The model stated that conflict was more concentrated close to forests, built-up areas and mines and in landscapes outside protected areas. Conflict, it suggested, was driven not by any single factor but by the way forests, settlements, mines and elephant movement routes overlap.
Mining, farms and transport infrastructure
The study’s landscape analysis suggested that elephant mortality and conflict are closely linked to human-modified landscapes. Higher anthropogenic mortality was associated with built-up areas, croplands, forests, mines, protected areas and railway networks, with mining showing the strongest association.
Analysis of land-use and land-cover changes examined 10 major categories, including forests, croplands, settlements, plantations, water bodies, scrubland, grassland and barren land. The study found that increasing agriculture, settlements and plantations can contribute to conflict-prone zones and constrain elephant movement.
Northern and southwestern regions of the state showed higher patch density, indicating numerous smaller and more isolated forest patches, while edge density was high in northern, western and southwestern Odisha. In contrast, the central forest belt retained larger and more continuous patches.
The findings pointed to a growing challenge for elephant movement as forests increasingly intersect with farms, settlements, mines and transport networks.
The study identified 244 villages in the state where elephant mortality was recorded during the 25-year period. These villages were grouped according to the level of mortality - high, medium, low and non-incident. Seven landscape variables were compared. It found that high-mortality villages had greater forest cover, a lower proportion of cropland than non-incident and low-mortality villages and even a higher proportion of water areas but statistical tests found no significant differences for these variables.
Monsoon a high-risk period
The study found a clear seasonal pattern in elephant mortality. Though anthropogenic deaths occurred throughout the year, they were highest during the southwest monsoon during which 163 elephant deaths were recorded. This was followed by the post-monsoon period at 142 deaths, winter at 121 and summer at 82.1,677 human casualties.
The analysis showed 2,242 human-elephant conflict incidents between 2000 and 2025, resulting in 1,677 human fatalities and 565 injuries across 244 villages. The highest annual total was recorded in 2023, with 243 incidents, including 175 deaths and 68 injuries.
Dhenkanal again emerged as the worst-affected division, recording 355 human deaths. Keonjhar reported 155 deaths and Rourkela 140, while Angul and Khurda recorded 141 and 45 deaths, respectively. Baripada, Bonai, Sundargarh, Deogarh and Redhakhol also contributed substantially to the human casualty burden.
Dhenkanal, Angul & Keonjhar landscapes
The report identified Dhenkanal, Athagarh, Angul, Keonjhar, Bonai and Rourkela as major priority landscapes where multiple risk factors overlap.
Accordingly, it has recommended targeted action rather than uniform intervention across the state. The immediate measures should include correcting unsafe electrical infrastructure, removing illegal electric fences, monitoring railway and road crossings, protecting functional elephant corridors and strengthening early-warning and rapid-response systems in recurrent hotspot villages, the report suggested.
It also stressed that Similipal, Satkosia, Baripada and Balasore require stronger disease surveillance, carcass detection and forest-village preparedness, while Sambalpur, Deogarh, Bargarh, Bamra and Redhakhol need focused measures against electrocution, transport-related risks and movement-related conflict.
The study recommended making crossing structures a permanent mitigation measure, supplemented by site-specific technologies.
It also calls for greater scrutiny of the cumulative impact of mining, industries and infrastructure projects on elephant movement.
Communities in conflict hotspots should be supported through early-warning networks, village risk maps and safer crop-guarding practices. Rapid Response Teams should receive adequate resources, while barriers and fencing should be restricted to clearly defined locations with responsibility for regular inspection and maintenance, the study proposed.
Electrocution a major culprit
Electrocution accounted for the largest share of human-caused deaths in the state, claiming 274 elephants, followed by poaching at 129 in the 25-year period. Train accidents killed 45 elephants, while poisoning accounted for 20 deaths. Retaliatory killings linked to human-elephant conflict claimed 16 elephants, while another 16 died after getting trapped in wells, tanks, canals, trenches, drains and other human-made structures. Vehicle accidents accounted for eight deaths.
The study found that elephant mortality was not evenly distributed across Odisha, with a small number of forest divisions accounting for a disproportionately large share of deaths.
Dhenkanal recorded the highest overall elephant mortality at 229, followed by Athagarh with 178, Keonjhar territorial division with 150, Similipal Tiger Reserve with 100 and Satkosia Wildlife Division with 80. Dhenkanal also topped the list for anthropogenic elephant mortality, recording 78 deaths, followed by Keonjhar territorial division with 66, Angul with 38 and Athagarh with 30. Hirakud Wildlife Division, on the other hand, recorded one elephant death, while Chilika Wildlife and City Forest Divisions recorded two each. Among natural causes, disease was the leading cause, accounting for 469 deaths, followed by physiological causes with 309, natural accidents with 95 and territorial fights with 53.
AI technology proposed for hotspot monitoring
The study also recommended piloting AI-based elephant detection systems at confirmed elephant entry routes, movement bottlenecks, settlement approaches and high-risk railway crossings. Camera traps and thermal sensors could detect elephants and transmit alerts to control rooms and field teams.
The report cited a West Bengal deployment that recorded 266 detections and generated alerts within an average of about 42 seconds. However, it cautioned that such systems should initially be tested at selected sites to assess detection accuracy, false alarms, missed events, communication reliability and response time. The study also called for improved post-mortem procedures, disease surveillance and forensic investigation of elephant deaths.
“Reducing elephant deaths and human casualties in Odisha requires coordinated action across key departments and local communities. Annual hotspot assessments, geospatial monitoring and targeted interventions in high-risk landscapes are essential to improve human safety while conserving elephant movement,” it underlined.
Human-elephant conflict
2,242 cases of conflict incidents between 2000 and 2025
508 deaths, around 30%, were due to anthropogenic causes
Elephant deaths by age group
328 adult females 283 adult males
269 sub-adults 222 juveniles
246 calves 323 cases where the exact age group was unknown
Cause of death
Electrocution emerged as the leading human-caused reason, killing 274 elephants
Poaching accounted for 129 deaths
Other reasons
Train accidents: 45 deaths
Poisoning: 20 deaths
Retaliatory killing: 16 deaths
Human-made structures: 16 deaths
Vehicle accidents: 8 deaths
Elephant mortality by division
Dhenkanal: 229 deaths
Athagarh: 178
Keonjhar territorial division: 150
Similipal Tiger Reserve: 100
Satkosia Wildlife Division: 80
Human casualties
1,677 human deaths and 565 injuries across 244 villages
Highest 175 deaths in 2023
Dhenkanal: 355 Keonjhar: 155
Rourkela: 140 Angul: 141 Khurda: 45