Forest watcher Vishnu PS, whose lungi was pulled by the tusker and hence, his hand was fractured, in Thissur

“My son still has nightmares,” says Ajitha, Romith Eldho’s mother. “He was about to leave for school when this happened.”

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From January to March 2024, three others, in addition to Ajeesh, were killed and two more injured by elephants in Thrissur and Wayanad districts. Forests cover 11,531 sqmts of Wayanad—that’s 29.6 per cent of Kerala. The state’s forests stretch into Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu; and into Karnataka’s Nagarahole and Bandipur Tiger reserves. According to the Economic Review of 2022-23, elephant attacks have left 41 humans dead in the district, and seven lives were lost to tiger attacks over the last decade. Altogether, 8,873 incidents of human-wildlife conflict were reported in Kerala, with 98 human casualties. 

Sibin, 22, who lost his father Sibi Mathai to a tusker attack 22 years ago, with his grandparents VP Mathai, 83, and Anamma, 74. Pics/Atul Kamble

Predictably, the issue has become a fulcrum for polls in the region. Bijoy Thomas, Central Zonal Vice President of BJP (Thrissur, Malappuram and Palakkad), says the State has not disbursed funds allotted by the Centre to implement solutions. “The menace has grown so much that people are demanding the Forest department register criminal cases against officials under whose jurisdiction such deaths occur,” he says. 

On January 29, at around 9 pm, 16-year-old Shaharth had stepped out of his house in Pakkam’s Adivasi colony (Pullappally) when a tusker hiding behind a jackfruit tree grabbed him and threw him into a ditch. His ribs and hips were fractured, and he needs assistance to walk and climb stairs. The Class 9 student was forced to sit out the academic year.  

TC Joseph

“The Forest department gave us R12,000, and a local politician gave another R2 lakh,” say his parents Viajayan BA and Pakkam Karreri, who make a daily wage. “The State has given no other compensation. Doctors say it will take a long time for Shaharth to be normal.” 

While nothing can replace the loss of a human life, more so a young one, the loss of a source income is a brutal reality for those living on a daily wage. Joseph Kunjumon, Ajeesh’s 75-year-old father says many families in the area have lost earning members to wildlife attack. “Why can’t a family member be given a job in the Forest ministry? They know the terrain and the danger posed by the animals. They can do the job well; but who cares to listen to me?”

Sharath’s parents Viajyan and mother Pakkam Karreri show the spot where Sharath was attacked by a tusker in January, 2024

TC Joseph, Chairman of the farmer organisation Wayanad Action Committee to Prevent Wildlife Attack has lived in the area for six decades. 

He recalls that Wayanad had a naturally dense forest up till a few decades ago... and there was no human-animal conflict.

They only started when the government chopped down trees to make way for the Mavoor Gwalior Rayons Factory that turned wood pulp into fibre in neighbouring Kozhikode district. Native trees were felled from 1957 to 1985 in about a 864.44 sqmt-area (60 per cent of the forest), and eucalyptus and teak were planted in their place to generate revenue.

“Teak absorbs underground water, and does not allow other plants to grow,” explains Joseph, “thus limiting food and water for wildlife. By 1979-80, animals began to be spotted outside the forest.” 

First it was wild pigs and boars, who could be shooed away by making loud noises. Locals had permission to possess guns, and they would hunt in the forests. However, the Wild Life Sanctuary Mudumalai (which is a Tamil word for ancient forest) was established in 1972, and hunting was banned. By 1979-80, elephants began wandering out of the forest; In 2005, a tiger killed a human for the first time in the region. 

“The first time an elephant killed a man was in 1982,” says Joseph. “Since then, the number of attacks has increased. Some years, as many as five people are killed. The maximum deaths occur in Tirunelli Panchayat, where around 80 per cent of the 264-sqkm of forest has teak plantations.” 

 An adult elephant needs 200 kg of food, and 250 litres of water a day. “Its skin is delicate and heats up with dehydration. The irate elephant then transgresses outside the forest,” says Joseph. 

The BJP representative points out that year-round production—as opposed to traditionally seasonal—availability of jackfruits, bananas, and coconuts also contribute to the problem when they are grown as cash crops.

“The strong smell of ripening jackfruits attracts wild elephants, who eat the fruit and leaves,” says Bijoy. “Earlier, jackfruits would ripen only in a particular season but now it is a general agriculture, and the fruit is available all through the year.”

Neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have found a solution to the lack of water: They send out water tankers into the forest to refill ponds. “The Forest department is supposed to provide check dams in inner forests for wild,” says Bijoy. “However, no one goes inside the forests to inspect these dams for water quality and level.” 

Forest fires also drive the animals out, though the government has appointed fire watchers to curb them. Right now, no human habitat in Wayanad is safe from a wandering elephant.  Some stray into towns too; one had to be shot down after it killed a child in Mananthavady. 

Domestic animals, and thus livelihood, are also at risk. Joseph estimates that over 2,000 domestic animals have been killed by wild elephants and tigers in the past decade. There has also considerable damage to property, farms, and vehicles. 

The Wayanad Action Committee was formed in 1974  to implement solutions. “One of our main requests was to cut down teak and timber trees, and let the forest recuperate naturally,” Joseph says. The second request was to fence the forest area. “Not all of the forest can be fenced,” Joseph understands, “but the parts adjoining human settlements can be; 50 per cent of the problem will be resolved.” 

Kunjumon holds the government responsible for the breach of boundaries. “I blame them for not taking any measures to protect people, in spite of so many such deaths,” he says.

One could present the conservationist’s argument that lack of food and water draws wildlife into human habitation, to which Kunjumon responds angrily, “That is the government’s lookout; their duty to take care of the wild animals there.” 

The opposition BJP in the LDF (Left Democratic Front) government says the ruling party is not looking beyond solutions that have already failed.  “The Forest department erected electric fences, which are usually just wires and often not charged,” says Bijoy, “Wild elephants cross them easily.  They can even tell which ones are live, and push a tree on them to cut off power.”

He says his party has offered solutions that have been successful in other countries. “They generate sounds at a frequency that scares wild life away. Another solution is digging trenches demarcating forest limits,” he says. 

He predicts the problem will only get worse as the tusker population increases. According to government figures, 172 new elephants are born each year; and an elephant can live up to 80 to 90 years. 

“We are confident the BJP candidate from Thrissur, Suresh Gopi, will win and see to it that there are proposals to safeguard people’s lives and end the menace of animal-human conflict in Kerala,” Bijoy says.

Rahul Gandhi, who won from Wayanad in 2019, was one of the first politicians to offer condolences to Kunjumon. Until then, the local MLA OR Kellu, Communist Party of India (Marxist), whose office is a few kilometres away, had not visited. Chief Minister Pinarai Vijayan visited Vadakkara close to Wayanad, but didn’t “bother to come and visit the affected families.”

Does Kunjumon trust Gandhi to amend the Wildlife Act as promised? [In February, the Kerala Assembly passed a resolution seeking to amend the Wildlife Protection Act to protect humans] “Do you think the State or Centre will let him?” Kunjumon retorts.

4
Humans killed by tuskers from Jan-March 24

41
Humans killed by tuskers in 2022-23 

98
Human casualties in all Kerala

‘A state-specific disaster’

D Jayaprasad, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden of Kerala, weighs in 

What measures has the Forest Department taken to curtail human-animal conflict?  
We have devised short-term and long-term plans: In March, Kerala became the first state to declare human-animal strife a State Specific Disaster, which means that the State Disaster Management Authority will rope in all departments—Tribal Welfare, Revenue, Forest, Police, Fire, etc, to participate collectively to find solutions. 
Committees will be formed at the state, district, division, and grassroots level to delegate responsibilities, and have regular coordination meetings and discussions.
A Rapid Response Team with additional workforce has been set up for Kerala, as have additional Emergency Control rooms and round-the-clock patrolling in sensitive areas has begun. These are places with high probability of conflict probability.

In addition, there are 24-hour helpline numbers at division, district, and state level. 

We have also started digging trenches to restrict wild animals from crossing over to human habitats wherever possible.

Do these measures need funding? 
We have an estimated budget of over Rs 200 crore to reduce instances of conflict—R110 crore has been set aside from the Kerala Infrastructure Fund, State Disaster Fund and NABARD, in addition to funds allotted by corporates under CSR. 
 
Is the leadership involved in these measures?
There have been action-oriented meetings between the chief wildlife wardens of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. 

State ministers have also interacted for better inter-state coordination and cooperation for monitoring and sharing intelligence on wild animals, especially the movement of elephants from one state to another. 

Soon, we will have a video meeting with stakeholders from all the states and international bodies to discuss further plans.
 
Some major complaints are lack of electrical fencing, availability of food and water inside forests, deforestation, and planting of eucalyptus and teak. It is said that Kerala, like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, can provide water tankers to fill watering holes for the animals in deep forests.
We must understand that Kerala, unlike Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, mostly has evergreen and semi-green deciduous forest cover. Moreover, 44 rivers pass through its forests, and we have around 1,400 artificial water holes, which have sufficient water most of the time. We do not have water issues [unlike Karnataka and Tamil Nadu], as we have sufficient reservoirs. 

Kerala has already put up electrical fencing covering around 2,800 sq km of forest areas. We have also covered 200 to 300 sq kms with hanging solar electrical fencing, funded by NABARD at Rs 75 crore. 

However, we cannot have the same safety measures everywhere–it is dependent on terrain and human habitat.

People have complained about lack of compassion from Forest officers after casualties…
We have taken many proactive measures, so the charge is unfair. We appeal to the public to participate in the intra-state safety measures [such as informing animal movement through helplines].

What is the cost of maintaining biodiversity? Animal population is increasing, and there is a lack of adequate food and water inside forests. This bound to impact lives, livelihood, and crops…
It’s a misconception that the wild animal population is increasing. Unlike humans who have boundaries, wild animals have none. The 5,520 sq kms of Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve are spread over Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka. Wild animals circulate in a 40 to 50 km area on average. 
The three states each have Standard Operating Programs for biodiversity, and in the case of elephants in particular, we have six reserves. Our biodiversity is always protected, and we are working as one large team for better coordination.