india

Updated: Mar 02, 2019 13:39 IST

Wild elephants spread panic across three villages in Odisha Friday night and Saturday morning, killing three persons including a 7-year-old child and injuring another, pushing the toll of human casualties in man-animal conflict to an all-time high of 85, officials said.

In 2017-18, 84 people were killed by elephants.

In Dhenkanal district, the ground-zero of man-elephant conflict, a 65-year-old man was trampled by an elephant while going to village pond for a bath. Dayanidhi Sahu was attacked by an elephant and died on the sport, said Dhenkanal divisional forest officer Sudarshan Patra. Angry locals later staged a road blockade on National Highway 55 near the village demanding compensation for family members of the deceased.

In Deulabeda area of neighbouring Angul district, 80-year-old Kedar Nath Prasad was going to a shop when a tusker allegedly attacked and trampled him to death on the spot. Locals alleged that two tuskers had strayed into the area from Mahabiroad forest range on February 28, one of which attacked Kedar Nath.

In Sundargarh district, a 7-year-old boy of Baraghat village died after a wall collapsed on him when an elephant tried to enter his home Friday night. The elephant tried to enter the home of the boy to eat paddy when a portion of the wall collapsed on the child who was asleep. The child was rushed to the hospital where doctors declared him dead early Saturday morning.

Officials said the growing man-elephant conflict in the state has also created an all-time record of 159 face-offs this year compared to 120 last year. Similarly, the number of injured human beings also reached an all-time high, almost doubling from 54 last year to 101 this year.

“Growing anthropogenic pressure on elephant habitats is the main reason for conflict. The fragmentation of elephant corridors is forcing the wild animals to head towards human habitations. In many parts of Odisha, people and elephants are increasingly coming into conflict over living space and food due to expanding human populations,” said Ranjit Patnaik of Wildlife Society of Odisha, a leading wildlife NGO of the State.

Patnaik said a total of 570 people were killed in Odisha due to elephant attacks between 2011-12 and 2017-18. During the same period, 618 elephants died and 7984 houses and 11,500 acres of standing crops were destroyed.

Former chief wildlife warden BK Patnaik said the situation was likely to get worse this month with rising day temperatures. “As more and more elephants would come out to eat paddy near human settlements, we may see more human-elephant conflicts. We have to quickly take steps to bring the situation under control,” Patnaik said.