India, Feb. 5 -- The All-India Elephant Census reported an elephant population of 2,103 in Odisha as of winter 2024. Around the same time, in November, Odisha's Forest and Environment Minister, Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia, stated in the State Assembly that in the past three years, elephant attacks have caused 668 human deaths and 509 injuries, making this the highest human-elephant conflict in India.

The alarming state of the tuskers and their conflicts with the local population has sparked major concerns after an elderly couple was recently trampled to death at Kadamali village under the Biswanathpur forest range in Kalahandi district. As per reports, a herd of jumbos first vandalised the couple's hut while they were asleep before crushing...