By JB Dash, Baripada: The growing man-elephant conflict in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, bordering Jharkhand and West Bengal, has become a serious concern for environmentalists and locals alike. Over the past few years, the state government has paid nearly ₹8 crore in compensation for human deaths caused by elephants, while 29 pachyderms have been killed by poachers and other causes, threatening both conservation and community safety.
Forest department measures such as solar fencing, trench digging, and elephant corridors, costing over ₹10 crore, have yielded little success, with intrusions into villages continuing unabated. Elephants entering from neighbouring states are often labelled “Jharkhandi elephants,” further complicating accountability. Similipal Tiger Reserve alone houses around 407 elephants, but its strategic location also attracts herds from outside.
Experts stress the urgent need for a coordinated, practical approach involving communities, forest officials, and wildlife groups to prevent further loss of human and elephant lives, and safeguard the region’s fragile biodiversity. The human-animal conflict