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Escalating Human-Wildlife Conflict: Kerala Reports 460 Deaths in past 5 years
As Kerala’s Wayanad district grapples with the deaths of four people in 48 hours due to elephant attacks, the Union environment ministry has informed the Rajya Sabha that the state recorded 460 deaths and 4,527 injuries due to human-wildlife conflict in the 2020-2024 period. Palakkad district, with 101 deaths, had the highest mortality rate in the state due to conflicts with animals, followed by Thrissur with 56, Malappuram with 45 and Wayanad with 26.
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The ministry’s written response came in reply to a question from the Indian Union Muslim League’s P V Abdul Wahab, who enquired about mortalities and injuries linked to animal attacks in Kerala.
Kerala recorded 82 such deaths in 2024, 100 each in 2023 and 2022, and 104 and 74 in 2021 and 2020, respectively. In 2024 alone, animals injured 926 people in conflicts. Last week, the ministry said that 102 people had died due to elephant attacks in the state.
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Rising Human-Wildlife Conflict: Elephant and Tiger Attacks in Wayanad
In a separate response to Congress MP Pramod Tiwari regarding attacks and deaths caused by elephants, the ministry said that 629 people had died from elephant attacks in 2023-24. Between 2019-20 and 2023-24, there were 2,833 fatalities due to elephant attacks. The recent elephant attacks in Wayanad follow a fatal tiger attack on January 24 on a tribal woman who was working at a coffee plantation. On Wednesday, an elephant attacked and killed Balan, 27, whose body was found in Attamala, a village affected by the July 2024 Wayanad landslide.
Members of Kerala’s Opposition Congress and the ruling CPM have raised the issue of human-wildlife conflict in the Rajya Sabha. Both parties are advocating amendments to the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 to prioritise human safety.
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