Bhubaneswar: Odisha leads the country in the percentage of elephant deaths, due to unnatural causes, as per their population in the state. This has been reported by The Hindustan Times.
According to the report, 176 wild elephants were killed in Odisha between 2015-16 and 2023-24. The death rate in the state over this period has been 9.3%, given the fact that Odisha has 2,098 elephants.
So far as absolute figures are concerned, Odisha comes second after Assam where 200 unnatural deaths were reported in those nine years. However, given the fact that Assam has 5,828 elephants, the death rate in that state is 3.4%.
These figures were revealed to an HT correspondent by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, in response to an RTI query. The deaths occurred due to electrocution, train accidents and poaching. Other states such as Tamil Nadu (103 deaths against 3,063 elephants), Karnataka (102 deaths against 6,395 elephants) and Kerala(75 deaths against 1,793 elephants) are far behind in absolute numbers as well as the death rate.
Electrocution has been cited as the leading unnatural cause of elephant mortality in Odisha. This happened due to live wire poaching traps, poorly maintained overhead power lines, and electrified fences. Of the 176 deaths between 2015-16 and 2023-24, 124 were from electrocution.
Train hits caused 26 deaths and 25 were killed by poachers. As per the information provided by K V Singh Deo, power minister, Government of Odisha, in the state Assembly last week, at least 18 elephants died of electrocution in the state in 2024-25, with a 15-year-old tusker electrocuted by a solar fence that was actually and illegally powered by overhead power lines in the Angul district on the night of March 31.
Tata Power, which manages four distribution companies in Odisha told HT in a statement that the company has taken steps such as increasing the height of electric poles in elephant-prone areas to ensure reduction in the possibility of accidental electrocution.
Wildlife conservationist Biswajit Mohanty told HT that 2024-25 was particularly devastating for the pachyderms with at least 31 of them dying due to unnatural causses.
“Elephants, which can stand up to 13 feet and use their trunks to explore their surroundings, frequently come into contact with these live wires while foraging or migrating. All these electrocution deaths could have been prevented if distribution companies like Tata Power had invested money in not allowing the high power lines to sag and state forest department conducted adequate joint patrols with their officers to check electrified fences and live wire poaching wires. There is zero accountability,” he has been quoted as saying.
Though the contribution of poaching (25) to the total death toll was comparatively low, Mohanty alleged that the actual number could be much higher. “In April and May 2010, carcasses of 14 elephants were recovered in Similipal Tiger Reserve of Mayurbhanj district by an independent inquiry committee of the National Tiger Conservation Authority. Forest staff had burnt and destroyed the carcasses to destroy evidence. How can one be sure that many of the elephant deaths that are passed off as natural are not so, as the carcasses are recovered several days later,” he pointed out.
State forest and environment minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia has said that elephant electrocution deaths are a matter of concern for the BJP government. He said the department is using AI-enabled cameras to monitor movement of the pachyderms, and also asked the energy department to use insulated cables and prevent sagging.
“Our department is also lodging cases against villagers who are hooking power lines to fences that is resulting in such deaths,” he said.
