Bhubaneswar, (Reporterspen), Sept 10: The Odisha Assembly on Tuesday was informed that at least 1,145 people have been killed in elephant attacks across the state over the past decade. Forest, Environment, and Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia provided this data in response to a query from Khurda MLA Prasanta Kumar Jagadev. The Minister reported that these deaths occurred between 2013-14 and 2023-24.
In addition, the Minister revealed that 41 elephants were killed by poachers over the last ten years, while 719 elephants died due to other causes. Addressing a question from Jharsuguda MLA Tankadhar Tripathy, Khuntia also noted that at least 55 tigers, including seven Royal Bengal Tigers (RBT), have died in various forests of Odisha during the same period. Additionally, 48 leopards and seven RBTs died between 2014-15 and 2023-24.
The fatalities among tigers included 23 killed by poachers, 4 electrocuted, 2 in train accidents, 3 in road accidents, 6 due to other causes such as drowning and infighting, 5 from illness, 5 from old-age ailments, and 7 from unknown reasons. Notably, seven Bengal tigers died during this period in different forest divisions.
Khuntia also mentioned that a tiger census was not conducted in Odisha in 2000, but the 2002 census using pugmark techniques recorded 173 tigers in the state.
