The death toll rises in Jharkhand due to human encounters with elephants. 62 killed this year.

Rise In Elephant-Human Encounters

There has been rise in the elephant-human encounters year by year. Unplanned expansion of cities that let to the cut down of many forests is the primary reason for these encounters. A ‘rouge’ elephant that killed 15 people in Bihar and Jharkhand in the last six months, was shot dead by the forest authorities in Jharkhand, Sahibganj district on Friday.

It so happened that Anurudh Kumbhakar, a farmer in Jharkhand, was harvesting his paddy crop on December 5th, when an elephant grabbed him with its trunk and tossed and then trampled him. The poor villager died on spot. Last month, elephants killed five people in a span of two days in the Ranchi and Hazaribagh districts of Jharkhand.

Elephant Deaths Also On Rise

Jharkhand has seen the deaths of a staggering 156 elephants since 2000. It has been planned to set up Wildlife Crime Control Cell with a budget of 3 crores for 2016-17. Elephants have been losing their lives at the rate of almost 10 a year in the state for a variety of reasons; from electrocution to being run over by trains, and poaching to consuming poisonous substances. This makes the elephants develop a fear against human beings and they end up behaving wildly in the villages.

Elephants kill roughly 60 people every year in the forested Jharkhand, just a fraction of the estimated 1,100 who died nationwide from elephant or tiger attacks in the three years from May.

Conclusion

Maintaining ecological balance is a very important factor for sustainable development. The ecological balance brings the existence of the world. Earth’s inhabitants such as human beings, plants, animals and other micro living organisms continue to survive. These species get the conducive environment to multiply and thrive. The world gets to produce sufficient food for all species. The violence against the animals should be reduced and a friendly environment should be maintained with the animals that reduces the fear in animals against humans.