On a quiet night of February 28, 2026, 17-year-old Pooja stepped off a bus in Bettathuru village close to Madikeri, like she had completed numerous instances earlier than. A pupil of St Michael’s Faculty, she was only a quick stroll away from house barely 100 metres from the sting of the forest. However what adopted was a tragedy her household and your complete village are but to come back to phrases with. A wild elephant emerged instantly and attacked her. Severely injured, Pooja died on the way in which to the hospital.
The folks of Bettathuru, positioned on the fringes of dense forest in North Kodagu, have lengthy lived underneath the shadow of elephant motion. For the residents, the forest isn’t just round them, however one thing that always impacts their day by day lives. Pooja’s dying turned that concern into anger. Villagers gathered in protest, accusing the Forest Division of ignoring repeated warnings about elephants straying into their village. Girish, Pooja’s father mentioned, “We had been informing officers about elephants roaming close to our properties for months. If motion had been taken in time, my daughter would nonetheless be alive. We’ve been protesting, however the Forest Division has not taken any motion.”
Barely six weeks later, tragedy struck once more, this time in South Kodagu. On April 8, Mokalamada Rathu, a 56-year-old espresso planter from Kaiemani, was attacked by a wild elephant whereas on his approach to his property. Like Pooja, he too succumbed to his accidents earlier than reaching hospital. These two incidents underline a grim and growing actuality within the forested hills of Kodagu. Human–animal conflict is not occasional however a persistent and deeply feared risk shaping on a regular basis life.
““If we’re critical about lowering conflict, we should confront the underlying drivers instantly, relatively than counting on options which can be simpler to advertise however ineffective on the bottom”Sanjay Gubbi,senior scientist and conservationist
Official information accessed by The Hindu exhibits that 47 folks have misplaced their lives on account of animal assaults over the previous 5 years in Kodagu, making it one of many worst-affected districts in Karnataka, on a par with Chamarajanagar district. The district has repeatedly discovered itself within the headlines for such incidents, with residents blaming each the Forest Division and the federal government for failing to handle the difficulty successfully. There have additionally been cases of leopards and tigers attacking folks throughout totally different components of the district, including layers of concern and unpredictability.
A statewide crisis
The crisis, nevertheless, will not be confined to Kodagu. Throughout Karnataka, districts bordering forests are witnessing an increase in human–animal conflict. Between 2021-22 and 2025-26, the State has recorded 259 deaths on account of animal assaults. Other than Kodagu and Chamarajanagar, districts corresponding to Mysuru, Hassan and Chikkamagaluru district characteristic prominently within the checklist of fatalities. The numbers peaked at 65 deaths in 2023-24, dipped barely to 46 in 2024-25, and have already reached 49 within the present yr.
In Hassan district, the size of the crisis is obvious within the recurring tragedies that unfold in its rural belts. Raja Shetti, a 65-year-old farmer, was on his approach to his farmland at Kanaguppe in Belur taluk of Hassan district early on the morning of April 12 when he encountered a tusker. The animal trampled him to dying. Members of the Elephant Process Pressure had alerted native residents a couple of tusker roaming close to the village the earlier night. Nevertheless, the tragedy struck within the early morning hours, earlier than ETF personnel might observe the animal’s newest place and warn the general public.
Consultants level to a mixture of ecological adjustments and human exercise as the basis causes of this escalating conflict.
Raja Shetti’s dying is the newest in a sequence of fatalities reported within the area lately. Each time such incidents happen, folks stage protests, block visitors, elevate slogans towards the Forest Division and demand a everlasting resolution to the escalating human-elephant conflict.
The taluks of Sakaleshpur, Belur and Alur in Hassan district kind the core of this conflict zone. A number of elephant herds roam throughout these areas, maintaining residents in a state of fixed concern. The assaults have claimed lives throughout all age teams — from youngsters to the aged. Mother and father stay anxious till their youngsters return house safely from college. Elephant herds steadily trample by means of agricultural fields, destroying crops and inflicting heavy losses on farmers.
The crisis extends to the neighbouring district of Chikkamagaluru as nicely. At Hunasehalli village, two folks died inside a single week in elephant assaults in February this yr. Each victims have been agricultural labourers — Boramma, 45, from Kudligi taluk in Vijayanagara district, and Yallappa from Hangal taluk of Haveri district — who had travelled to Chikkamagaluru to work in espresso estates. Final October, two extra individuals, Umesh Gowda and Harish Shetty, died close to Kerekatte in Sringeri taluk, reportedly whereas that they had gone to gather fodder for his or her cattle.
Such repeated tragedies have resulted in residents of each Hassan and Chikkamagaluru demanding that the State and Central governments seize and translocate elephants roaming in human habitations.
“4 a long time in the past, elephants not often entered human habitations, however right now their motion into farmlands and settlements has change into frequent”Raman Sukumar,elephant biologist and professor at IISc
Chikkamagaluru has additionally witnessed deaths in Indian gaur assaults. On April 18, Chetan, 30, was gored to dying by an Indian gaur at an property in Marasanige, Kalasa taluk. He succumbed to his accidents on the way in which to hospital, because the animal’s horns had pierced his stomach. In a separate incident, a farmer misplaced his life in an identical assault at Haluvalli in the identical taluk. Locals have been demanding the seize and relocation of Indian gaurs as nicely.
In response to the growing unrest, Income Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, who additionally holds cost of Hassan district, lately chaired a assessment assembly with Forest Division officers to handle the human-elephant conflict. He known as for improved elephant monitoring and advance public alerts when elephants method human settlements. The Forest Division has deployed native personnel in job forces and is utilizing drones to watch herd actions. GPS-enabled radio collars have additionally been fitted on a number of elephants to trace their actions extra successfully.
Understanding rising conflict
Consultants level to a mixture of ecological adjustments and human exercise as the basis causes of this escalating conflict. The enlargement of plantations, infrastructure tasks, and human settlements has progressively lowered and fragmented wildlife habitats.
“Conventional elephant corridors have been disrupted, forcing animals to maneuver by means of villages and farmlands. On the identical time, crops corresponding to paddy and banana entice elephants, drawing them nearer to human habitation. Altering local weather patterns and availability of water sources are additionally believed to affect animal motion, additional complicating the scenario,” an professional working intently with the federal government informed The Hindu.
Talking to The Hindu, Sanjay Gubbi, senior scientist and conservationist, mentioned that lowering human-wildlife conflict is central to the way forward for conservation in Karnataka and throughout India. He identified {that a} vital proportion of human fatalities is linked to species corresponding to elephants, leopards, tigers, sloth bears and crocodiles, and pressured that the difficulty have to be addressed by means of knowledgeable, science-based approaches.
At its core, Gubbi defined, the conflict is pushed by habitat loss and fragmentation, depletion of pure prey, and in some landscapes, growing wildlife populations and not using a corresponding enlargement of habitat. He cited examples from Nagarahole and Bandipur, the place rising tiger and elephant numbers are putting further strain on the already restricted area.
Nobody-size-fits-all resolution
Gubbi emphasised that there isn’t any one-size-fits-all resolution to the issue, and that responses have to be site- and species-specific. He known as for clear land-use zonation that prioritises conservation in important habitats and warned towards additional diversion of key wildlife areas. Initiatives that submerge elephant habitats, such because the proposed Mekedatu dam, he mentioned, might intensify conflict in areas like Ramanagara and Mandya. He additionally cautioned towards indiscriminate seize and translocation of animals corresponding to the big variety of leopards captured within the Mysuru division, which regularly worsens conflict, as animals try to return by means of unfamiliar landscapes.
Lowering human-wildlife conflict is central to the way forward for conservation in Karnataka and throughout India
| Picture Credit score:
M.A. SRIRAM
“Extreme manipulation of wildlife habitats, corresponding to synthetic waterholes and grassland creation, have to be curtailed, because it artificially boosts animal numbers with out increasing obtainable habitat. The elimination of senna and lantana is commonly projected as an answer to human-wildlife conflict, largely pushed by sections of the environmental sector. Nevertheless, there isn’t any clear scientific proof linking invasive species on to conflict. There’s additionally a must curb prey poaching to make sure sufficient pure prey for giant carnivores, particularly in non-protected and human-dominated landscapes the place poaching stays extreme. The main target have to be on securing habitats, sustaining wholesome prey populations, and implementing evidence-based methods relatively than counting on fast fixes,” Gubbi defined.
He additional noticed that {many professional} conservation organisations are overlooking the important thing drivers of human–wildlife conflict and, in some instances, selling short-term and ineffective options. He pointed to the scenario in Hassan district for instance, noting that regardless of a number of scientific research figuring out habitat loss and fragmentation as the first causes of human-elephant conflict, this elementary difficulty has typically been sidelined. Because of this, he mentioned, the conflict has intensified and expanded into new areas corresponding to Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and components of Mudigere.
He underlined the necessity for conservation actions to be guided by proof relatively than narratives formed by funding priorities or visibility. “If we’re critical about lowering conflict, we should confront the underlying drivers instantly, relatively than counting on options which can be simpler to advertise however ineffective on the bottom,” he mentioned.
Authorities pushes new measures
In the meantime, the Karnataka authorities, Within the March 2026 Funds, proposed the Karnataka Man-Animal Conflict Mitigation Programme with an outlay of ₹1,500 crore over the following 5 years. The federal government has already spent ₹1,044 crore prior to now three years on compensation, creation of elephant and leopard job forces, set up of photo voltaic fencing, trenching, and different protecting measures.
Extra lately Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre has proposed the institution of an Elephant Reserve, or Aane Dhama, as a long-term resolution to the crisis. Nevertheless, the proposal is but to obtain approval from the Central authorities, delaying its implementation.
Mr. Khandre mentioned that round 300 wild elephants are presently exterior forest areas, largely shifting by means of plantations and farmlands, resulting in frequent human–animal conflict. “The proposed Aane Dhama goals to rehabilitate such elephants. Nevertheless, capturing even a single elephant is a significant logistical problem, and we should be sure that no lives are misplaced within the course of,” he mentioned.
He added that a number of mitigation measures are being carried out, together with rail barricades, elephant-proof trenches and speedy response groups. “Our frontline workers and elephant job drive groups are continually on the bottom to handle conflict conditions,” he mentioned.
The Minister additionally sought cooperation from folks dwelling close to forest areas. “If residents comply with the rules issued throughout conflict conditions, such incidents will be prevented and the scenario will be dealt with extra successfully,” he mentioned.
Talking to The Hindu, Prof Raman Sukumar, a elephant biologist and professor on the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, mentioned that Aane Dhama might be step.
“4 a long time in the past, elephants not often entered human habitations, however right now their motion into farmlands and settlements has change into frequent, even in areas of Kodagu the place such presence was as soon as restricted to peripheral forest zones. As per present estimates, round 300 wild elephants are exterior forest areas, resulting in repeated human-elephant conflict. If this pattern continues, the numbers might rise additional, intensifying the issue. On this context, rehabilitation is a crucial step. Nevertheless, it ought to be a part of a broader, built-in method combining a number of measures to successfully tackle the difficulty,” he mentioned.
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