Man crushed by wild elephants in southern India amid rising human-wildlife conflict
by Bhagyashree BarmanIn a tragic incident highlighting the growing human-animal conflict in India, a 62-year-old man was trampled to death by wild elephants in southern India’s Andhra Pradesh.
The incident took place in Parvathipuram Manyam district on August 26.
Visuals showed the elephant herd which trampled on and crushed the man to death. The lifeless half naked body of the man lying on the ground was a sorry scene to witness.
According to reports, the incident took place in Vannam village, Komarada Mandal, as Shivdi Naidu was returning home after bathing in a nearby rivulet.
Naidu, unaware of the presence of a herd of elephants in a banana plantation, was suddenly attacked by the animals and died on the spot. The incident has sparked panic among the local villagers, leading to an immediate response from the Forest Department, which launched an operation to drive the elephants back into the forest.
This tragic event is the latest in a series of man-elephant conflicts in Andhra Pradesh, particularly in districts bordering the neighboring states of Odisha and Karnataka. Just two weeks ago, a herd of wild elephants caused significant damage to crops in Vizianagaram district, leading to widespread concern among farmers.
In response to the increasing number of such incidents, the Andhra Pradesh government has sought assistance from Karnataka. Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan recently requested the Karnataka Forest Department to provide eight trained Kumki elephants, which are used to manage and tame wild elephants, to help mitigate the conflict. Karnataka has a history of supplying these elephants to other states to help address similar issues.