What Happened
- The Wildlife Society of Odisha (WSO) has raised concerns over human deaths resulting from encounters with elephants in Odisha, which topped the national tally in 2024-25 with 171 deaths.
- Other states with high human-elephant conflict fatalities include Jharkhand (87), Assam (74), Tamil Nadu (61), and West Bengal (53).
- Odisha also recorded an all-time high of 94 elephant deaths in 2024-25, including 31 deaths from electrocution — the highest ever recorded.
- WSO has highlighted unhindered mining and quarrying in elephant habitats, non-notification of 14 identified elephant corridors, lack of wildlife underpasses on roads and rail lines, and barbed wire fencing of elephant forests as key contributing factors.
Static Topic Bridges
Project Elephant (1992) and Elephant Reserves
Project Elephant is a centrally sponsored scheme launched in 1992 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to provide financial and technical support to states for the protection of elephants, their habitats, and corridors. It aims to address issues of human-elephant conflict, habitat fragmentation, and poaching. As of December 2023, India has 33 notified elephant reserves covering approximately 80,778 sq km.
- Launched: February 1992; covers 23 elephant range states
- Objectives: Protect elephants and their habitats, address human-elephant conflict, ensure welfare of captive elephants
- Elephant corridors: India has identified over 100 elephant corridors across states like Assam, Odisha, West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala, and Uttarakhand; these are narrow strips of land connecting larger habitats
- Elephant population (2023 estimation by Wildlife Institute of India): ~22,446 — a significant decline from 29,964 estimated in the 2017 census
- The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is listed as "Endangered" on the IUCN Red List (since 1986) and is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
Connection to this news: Despite three decades of Project Elephant, Odisha's 171 human deaths and 94 elephant deaths in a single year underscore that the scheme's objectives of habitat protection and conflict mitigation remain unfulfilled in key range states.
Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 — Schedule I Protection and Elephant Corridors
The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 is India's principal legislation for wildlife conservation. The Asian elephant is listed in Schedule I, which affords the highest level of protection — offences against Schedule I species carry the most severe penalties. The Act also provides for the establishment of National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, and Conservation Reserves. The 2022 amendment to the Act introduced significant changes including rationalisation of schedules and enhanced penalties.
- Schedule I (highest protection): Includes tiger, elephant, rhinoceros, lion, snow leopard, among others
- Section 38L: Establishes the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) — no equivalent statutory body exists exclusively for elephants
- Elephant corridors are not formally protected under the Act; they rely on administrative notification by state governments
- 2022 Amendment: Reduced species schedules from six to four, increased penalties, and introduced provisions for invasive alien species management
- The Act distinguishes between National Parks (no human activity, Section 35) and Wildlife Sanctuaries (limited human activity permitted, Section 26A)
Connection to this news: WSO's complaint about non-notification of 14 identified elephant corridors highlights a critical gap — while the Wildlife Protection Act protects individual elephants under Schedule I, the corridors essential for their movement have no statutory protection, leaving them vulnerable to mining, road construction, and encroachment.
Human-Elephant Conflict — Causes, Scale, and Mitigation Strategies
Human-elephant conflict (HEC) occurs when elephants and humans compete for space and resources, typically resulting from habitat loss, corridor fragmentation, and agricultural expansion into forest-fringe areas. India experiences among the highest HEC levels globally, with an average of about 450 human deaths annually (2009-2020 data). Crop raiding, property damage, and retaliatory killings of elephants are additional dimensions of the conflict.
- Primary causes: Habitat fragmentation due to mining, linear infrastructure (roads, railways), agricultural expansion, and illegal encroachment into forest areas
- Electrocution (both accidental and deliberate) is a leading cause of elephant deaths; illegal electric fences are a significant threat
- Mitigation strategies include: early warning systems (SMS/siren alerts), elephant-proof trenches, solar-powered electric fences (legal, low-voltage), bee-fence barriers, crop compensation schemes, and wildlife underpasses/overpasses
- Railway-related elephant deaths: The Ministry of Railways has been directed by courts to reduce train speeds in identified elephant corridors and install signage
- States with significant HEC: Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala
Connection to this news: The 31 electrocution deaths among 94 elephant fatalities in Odisha point to inadequate enforcement against illegal electric fences and insufficient insulation of overhead power lines in elephant corridors — both addressable through existing mitigation strategies that remain poorly implemented.
Key Facts & Data
- Human deaths from elephant encounters in 2024-25: Odisha (171), Jharkhand (87), Assam (74), Tamil Nadu (61), West Bengal (53)
- Elephant deaths in Odisha (2024-25): 94 (all-time high), including 31 from electrocution
- Human deaths in Odisha over 10 years (2014-15 to 2024-25): 1,209
- India's elephant population: ~22,446 (2023 WII estimate), down from ~29,964 (2017 census)
- Asian elephant IUCN status: Endangered (since 1986)
- Legal protection: Schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
- Elephant reserves in India: 33, covering ~80,778 sq km
- Identified elephant corridors: Over 100 nationally; 14 identified but unnotified in Odisha