Diseases, fights take a toll on wild jumbos

827 wild elephants died in 7 years | 2023 census counted 1,920 jumbos, forest dept's 2024 report showed only 1,793

- Manoj Viswanathan @ Kochi

WHILE farmers allege that rising elephant population is the reason for increasing human-wildlife conflict in Kerala, an analysis of the wild elephant deaths paints a different picture.

As many as 827 wild elephant deaths have been reported in Kerala forests since 2019 and only 30 of them have died of old age. Diseases, infighting, accidents and predation keep elephant population dwindling in Kerala forests.

According to farmers, 28 people have been killed by wild elephants in the state since January 1, 2025. But environmentalists say the rising human-wild elephant conflict is driven by degradation of forests that drive the jumbos to human habitations.