1200 man-elephant conflicts in Karnataka in a year: CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said that the eight elephant task forces established by the Forest Department have responded to 1200 conflict incidents in the past one year in the state and stressed the need to improve elephant habitats to curb human-elephant conflicts (HEC).

He was speaking after inaugurating the International Conference on HEC Management at the Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra here. "The task forces have responded to 1200 conflict incidents in the past year alone, successfully driving elephants back to safer habitats," he said.

As per the latest estimation, Karnataka has 6395 elephants. He said with the significant population comes the inevitable challenge of conflict. The state reported over 350 human fatalities and substantial crop losses. This issue is not unique to our state but is shared by almost all regions with substantial elephant populations, he said.

Noting that elephants "increasingly" find their home ranges fragmented by "new villages, farms, cities, highways", he said habitat improvement activities were needed to minimise the straying of wild animals.

"The Karnataka Aranya Samarasya Project aims to establish zero human-animal conflict zones in targeted forest areas of Karnataka. This comprehensive plan involves strategies for water security, habitat improvement, and active community participation," he said.

Siddaramaiah said farmers of Karnataka have always been conservation oriented whether it is for forests or wildlife. "They have set a very good example of co-existence with the wild animals. Despite the conflicts they have shown immense tolerance," he added.