New Delhi: A 65-year-old woman has become the fifth person to be killed by a wild elephant in Chhattisgarh’s Korba district, in a yet another case of human-wildlife conflict in India. All the deaths have come in over a month.
The latest attack took place near Baghmara village in the Balco forest range, where the elephant also trampled two bulls to death.
Five deaths in a month by lone elephant
The elephant attacked Bhalai Bai and her husband while they were sleeping in their hut in a field near the village on Friday night. Bhalai Bai’s husband managed to escape. The elephant also attacked and killed two bulls in the vicinity, news agency PTI reported quoting Arvind PM, divisional forest officer of the Korba forest division.
Upon being informed of the incident, forest and police officers quickly arrived at the scene and sent the body for post-mortem examination.
The same elephant had previously killed an elderly man on September 4 in the Katghora forest division of Korba district and three women at different locations in the same division on August 8.
Wolf terror in UP’s Bahraich
These incidents follow recent attacks by wolves in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich, where a pack of wolves has killed eight people, including seven children, and injured many others. The forest department has captured four wolves so far, while two remain at large.
Union minister for environment and climate change Bhupender Yadav recently spoke at the India Sustainability Mission conclave on the issue. He was quoted by NDTV as saying, “Local wildlife wardens have the authority to act in situations of imminent danger, but this must be done judiciously. However, we continue to work diligently to protect forests, their wildlife, and the ecosystems they support.”
Union minister’s on human-wildlife conflict
The minister also highlighted the steps the government is taking to mitigate man-animal conflict and conserve biodiversity.
“We are fully committed to the preservation and protection of forest areas because they are essential ecological systems. We run awareness campaigns in these regions and issue guidelines as necessary. Additionally, we have launched capacity-building programmes,” he added.
These incidents are not isolated; there are many examples of human-animal conflicts in the country. Last month, crocodiles emerged in large numbers in Vadodara, Gujarat, following heavy rains in the area.