Over 1,300 jumbos died due to unnatural causes ranging from electrocution to poisoning in 14 years (Dehradun) Times of India September 20, 2023 India, home to one of the world's largest Asian elephant populations, has witnessed the loss of 1,381 jumbos from 2009 to 2023 due to unnatural causes ranging from electrocution to poisoning. According to RTI data obtained by Uttarakhand-based social activist Hemant Gonia, electrocution topped the list of causes of pachyderm deaths with 898 cases. This was followed by train accidents (218), poaching (191) and poisoning (74). An analysis of the RTI data revealed that 100 elephants lost their lives due to electrocution in 2022-23 alone, the maximum till date. Most of the deaths due to electrocution in 2022-23 occurred in Odisha (26), followed by Karnataka (15), Tamil Nadu (14), Chhattisgarh (9), Assam (8), Kerala (7), Jharkhand (6), Andhra Pradesh (5) and West Bengal (5). Uttarakhand reported three cases of jumbo deaths due to electrocution during the year. In 2018-19, 81 deaths were recorded due to electrocution. The number was 69 in 2017-18. In 2009-10 and 2020-21, 65 elephants each died due to electric shock. Wildlife experts and academics have been urging authorities to bring India's elephant reserves (ERs) under legal protection to shield the country's approximately 29,000 elephants from growing anthropogenic pressures. Incidentally, data maintained by the Wildlife Institute of India's (WII) ongoing 'Elephants in Changing Landscape' project highlights a concerning statistic -- a staggering 10,790 kilometres of roads and 1,340 kilometres of railway network intersect with the nation's elephant reserves. Experts have expressed concern over the fragmentation of the 33 elephant reserves in the country, either by road, rail network, agriculture close to the forest fringe, or other developmental activities. Vinod Krishnan, manager of the 'Human Wildlife Coexistence' division at animal welfare NGO, Humane Society Internationale, pointed out, "While nearly 75% of elephant reserves remain devoid of legal safeguards, tiger reserves enjoy legal entity status and protection under the Wildlife Protection Act." "Electrocution deaths of elephants are due to low-hanging power lines and also by farmers who install electric fences to protect their crops from being raided. It is high time that the government thinks of providing legal cover to elephant reserves and stop diverting forest lands," Krishnan added. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/over-1300-jumbos-died-due-to-unnatural-causes-ranging-from-electrocution-to-poisoning-in-14-years-rti-data/articleshow/103795458.cms?from=mdr