Man-Elephant Conflict Intensifies In Assam

Over the years, the conflict between man and elephant in the continuously receding forests of Assam has increased alarmingly. We look at the magnitude of the problem, causes and possible solutions.

- Nabarun Guha

On a pitch dark winter night, an elephant tries to cross the road. However, the driver of the passenger train reacts late and a moment later, the pachyderm finds itself grievously injured on the ground. A tribal woman had gone inside the Laokhowa Forest Reserve in Nagaon to collect firewood. She didn’t return but her disfigured body was found later. This was the result of her coming in the way of an angry herd. Both the above situations are being witnessed in Assam. Human-elephant conflict is nothing new but this year, it has reached alarming proportions. Altogether 70 elephants have died this year and causes vary from train accidents to poisoning and electrocution, according to the Forest Department.

Unnatural deaths account for 48 jumbo lives though conservationists claim the figure may go up to 70 if trans boundary fatalities are taken into account. Injured elephants often stray into neighbouring states and even into Bhutan and Bangladesh. A total of 48 people have been trampled to death by elephants till November this year, a Forest Department estimate revealed. This is exactly the kind of war where everyone loses. Whether an elephant dies or a human, it is nature which is losing.

Looking at Reasons for the Conflict

Assam, which has the highest number of wild elephants in India—up from 5,246 in 2002 to 5,620 in 2011—and over one third of its area is under forests, has witnessed hundreds of human-elephant conflicts. Between 2006 and 2016, wild elephants have killed 785 people in the state, while 225 pachyderms has fallen victim to poaching, speeding trains, poisoning, electrocution, etc. between 2001 and 2014.