Caught between forests and fear: Karnataka’s growing human–animal conflict crisis

On a quiescent evening of February 28, 2026, 17-year-old Pooja stepped disconnected a autobus successful Bettathuru colony adjacent Madikeri, similar she had done countless times before. A pupil of St Michael’s College, she was conscionable a abbreviated locomotion distant from location hardly 100 metres from the borderline of the forest. But what followed was a calamity her household and the full colony are yet to travel to presumption with. A chaotic elephant emerged abruptly and attacked her. Severely injured, Pooja died connected the mode to the hospital.

The radical of Bettathuru, located connected the fringes of dense wood successful North Kodagu, person agelong lived nether the shadiness of elephant movement. For the residents, the wood is not conscionable astir them, but thing that often affects their regular lives. Pooja’s decease turned that fearfulness into anger. Villagers gathered successful protest, accusing the Forest Department of ignoring repeated warnings astir elephants straying into their village. Girish, Pooja’s begetter said, “We had been informing officials astir elephants roaming adjacent our homes for months. If enactment had been taken successful time, my girl would inactive beryllium alive. We person been protesting, but the Forest Department has not taken immoderate action.”

Barely six weeks later, calamity struck again, this clip successful South Kodagu. On April 8, Mokalamada Rathu, a 56-year-old java planter from Kaiemani, was attacked by a chaotic elephant portion connected his mode to his estate. Like Pooja, helium excessively succumbed to his injuries earlier reaching hospital. These 2 incidents underline a grim and increasing world successful the forested hills of Kodagu. Human–animal struggle is nary longer occasional but a persistent and profoundly feared menace shaping mundane life.

Official information accessed by The Hindu shows that 47 radical person mislaid their lives owed to carnal attacks implicit the past 5 years successful Kodagu, making it 1 of the worst-affected districts successful Karnataka, connected a par with Chamarajanagar district. The territory has repeatedly recovered itself successful the headlines for specified incidents, with residents blaming some the Forest Department and the authorities for failing to code the contented effectively. There person besides been instances of leopards and tigers attacking radical crossed antithetic parts of the district, adding layers of fearfulness and unpredictability.

A statewide crisis

The crisis, however, is not confined to Kodagu. Across Karnataka, districts bordering forests are witnessing a emergence successful human–animal conflict. Between 2021-22 and 2025-26, the State has recorded 259 deaths owed to carnal attacks. Apart from Kodagu and Chamarajanagar, districts specified arsenic Mysuru, Hassan and Chikkamagaluru territory diagnostic prominently successful the database of fatalities. The numbers peaked astatine 65 deaths successful 2023-24, dipped somewhat to 46 successful 2024-25, and person already reached 49 successful the existent year.

In Hassan district, the standard of the situation is evident successful the recurring tragedies that unfold successful its agrarian belts. Raja Shetti, a 65-year-old farmer, was connected his mode to his farmland astatine Kanaguppe successful Belur taluk of Hassan territory aboriginal connected the greeting of April 12 erstwhile helium encountered a tusker. The carnal trampled him to death. Members of the Elephant Task Force had alerted section residents astir a tusker roaming adjacent the colony the erstwhile evening. However, the calamity struck successful the aboriginal greeting hours, earlier ETF unit could way the animal’s latest presumption and pass the public.

Raja Shetti’s decease is the latest successful a bid of fatalities reported successful the portion successful caller years. Whenever specified incidents occur, radical signifier protests, artifact traffic, rise slogans against the Forest Department and request a imperishable solution to the escalating human-elephant conflict.

The taluks of Sakaleshpur, Belur and Alur successful Hassan territory signifier the halfway of this struggle zone. Several elephant herds roam crossed these areas, keeping residents successful a authorities of changeless fear. The attacks person claimed lives crossed each property groups — from children to the elderly. Parents stay anxious until their children instrumentality location safely from school. Elephant herds often trample done cultivation fields, destroying crops and inflicting dense losses connected farmers.

The situation extends to the neighbouring territory of Chikkamagaluru arsenic well. At Hunasehalli village, 2 radical died wrong a azygous week successful elephant attacks successful February this year. Both victims were cultivation labourers — Boramma, 45, from Kudligi taluk successful Vijayanagara district, and Yallappa from Hangal taluk of Haveri territory — who had travelled to Chikkamagaluru to enactment successful java estates. Last October, 2 much persons, Umesh Gowda and Harish Shetty, died adjacent Kerekatte successful Sringeri taluk, reportedly portion they had gone to cod fodder for their cattle.

Such repeated tragedies person resulted successful residents of some Hassan and Chikkamagaluru demanding that the State and Central governments seizure and translocate elephants roaming successful quality habitations.

Chikkamagaluru has besides witnessed deaths successful Indian gaur attacks. On April 18, Chetan, 30, was gored to decease by an Indian gaur astatine an property successful Marasanige, Kalasa taluk. He succumbed to his injuries connected the mode to hospital, arsenic the animal’s horns had pierced his abdomen. In a abstracted incident, a husbandman mislaid his beingness successful a akin onslaught astatine Haluvalli successful the aforesaid taluk. Locals person been demanding the seizure and relocation of Indian gaurs arsenic well.

In effect to the increasing unrest, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, who besides holds complaint of Hassan district, precocious chaired a reappraisal gathering with Forest Department officials to code the human-elephant conflict. He called for improved elephant tracking and beforehand nationalist alerts erstwhile elephants attack quality settlements. The Forest Department has deployed section unit successful task forces and is utilizing drones to show herd movements. GPS-enabled vigor collars person besides been fitted connected respective elephants to way their movements much effectively.

Understanding rising conflict

Experts constituent to a operation of ecological changes and quality enactment arsenic the basal causes of this escalating conflict. The enlargement of plantations, infrastructure projects, and quality settlements has gradually reduced and fragmented wildlife habitats.

“Traditional elephant corridors person been disrupted, forcing animals to determination done villages and farmlands. At the aforesaid time, crops specified arsenic paddy and banana pull elephants, drafting them person to quality habitation. Changing clime patterns and availability of h2o sources are besides believed to power carnal movement, further complicating the situation,” an adept moving intimately with the authorities told The Hindu.

Speaking to The Hindu, Sanjay Gubbi, elder idiosyncratic and conservationist, said that reducing human-wildlife struggle is cardinal to the aboriginal of conservation successful Karnataka and crossed India. He pointed retired that a important proportionality of quality fatalities is linked to taxon specified arsenic elephants, leopards, tigers, sloth bears and crocodiles, and stressed that the contented indispensable beryllium addressed done informed, science-based approaches.

At its core, Gubbi explained, the struggle is driven by situation nonaccomplishment and fragmentation, depletion of earthy prey, and successful immoderate landscapes, expanding wildlife populations without a corresponding enlargement of habitat. He cited examples from Nagarahole and Bandipur, wherever rising tiger and elephant numbers are placing further unit connected the already constricted space.

No one-size-fits-all solution

Gubbi emphasised that determination is nary one-size-fits-all solution to the problem, and that responses indispensable beryllium site- and species-specific. He called for wide land-use zonation that prioritises conservation successful captious habitats and warned against further diversion of cardinal wildlife areas. Projects that submerge elephant habitats, specified arsenic the projected Mekedatu dam, helium said, could intensify struggle successful regions similar Ramanagara and Mandya. He besides cautioned against indiscriminate seizure and translocation of animals specified arsenic the ample fig of leopards captured successful the Mysuru division, which often worsens conflict, arsenic animals effort to instrumentality done unfamiliar landscapes.

“Excessive manipulation of wildlife habitats, specified arsenic artificial waterholes and grassland creation, indispensable beryllium curtailed, arsenic it artificially boosts carnal numbers without expanding disposable habitat. The removal of senna and lantana is often projected arsenic a solution to human-wildlife conflict, mostly driven by sections of the biology sector. However, determination is nary wide technological grounds linking invasive taxon straight to conflict. There is besides a request to curb prey poaching to guarantee capable earthy prey for ample carnivores, particularly successful non-protected and human-dominated landscapes wherever poaching remains severe. The absorption indispensable beryllium connected securing habitats, maintaining steadfast prey populations, and implementing evidence-based strategies alternatively than relying connected speedy fixes,” Gubbi explained.

He further observed that galore nonrecreational conservation organisations are overlooking the cardinal drivers of human–wildlife struggle and, successful immoderate cases, promoting short-term and ineffective solutions. He pointed to the concern successful Hassan territory arsenic an example, noting that contempt aggregate technological studies identifying situation nonaccomplishment and fragmentation arsenic the superior causes of human-elephant conflict, this cardinal contented has often been sidelined. As a result, helium said, the struggle has intensified and expanded into caller regions specified arsenic Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and parts of Mudigere.

He underlined the request for conservation actions to beryllium guided by grounds alternatively than narratives shaped by backing priorities oregon visibility. “If we are superior astir reducing conflict, we indispensable face the underlying drivers directly, alternatively than relying connected solutions that are easier to beforehand but ineffective connected the ground,” helium said.

Government pushes caller measures

Meanwhile, the Karnataka government, In the March 2026 Budget, projected the Karnataka Man-Animal Conflict Mitigation Programme with an outlay of ₹1,500 crore implicit the adjacent 5 years. The authorities has already spent ₹1,044 crore successful the past 3 years connected compensation, instauration of elephant and leopard task forces, installation of star fencing, trenching, and different protective measures.

More precocious Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre has projected the constitution of an Elephant Reserve, oregon Aane Dhama, arsenic a semipermanent solution to the crisis. However, the connection is yet to person support from the Central government, delaying its implementation.

Mr. Khandre said that astir 300 chaotic elephants are presently extracurricular wood areas, mostly moving done plantations and farmlands, starring to predominant human–animal conflict. “The projected Aane Dhama aims to rehabilitate specified elephants. However, capturing adjacent a azygous elephant is simply a large logistical challenge, and we indispensable guarantee that nary lives are mislaid successful the process,” helium said.

He added that aggregate mitigation measures are being implemented, including obstruction barricades, elephant-proof trenches and accelerated effect teams. “Our frontline unit and elephant task unit teams are perpetually connected the crushed to negociate struggle situations,” helium said.

The Minister besides sought practice from radical surviving adjacent wood areas. “If residents travel the guidelines issued during struggle situations, specified incidents tin beryllium prevented and the concern tin beryllium handled much effectively,” helium said.

Speaking to The Hindu, Prof Raman Sukumar, a elephant biologist and prof astatine the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, said that Aane Dhama could beryllium a bully step.

“Four decades ago, elephants seldom entered quality habitations, but contiguous their question into farmlands and settlements has go frequent, adjacent successful areas of Kodagu wherever specified beingness was erstwhile constricted to peripheral wood zones. As per existent estimates, astir 300 chaotic elephants are extracurricular wood areas, starring to repeated human-elephant conflict. If this inclination continues, the numbers could emergence further, intensifying the problem. In this context, rehabilitation is simply a indispensable step. However, it should beryllium portion of a broader, integrated attack combining aggregate measures to efficaciously code the issue,” helium said.