Bhubaneswar, Dec 10 : As many as 857 elephants died for various reasons in Odisha from 2014-15 till the end of November 2024.

The Minister for Forest, Environment and Climate Change Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia revealed this information in the state Assembly on Tuesday.

While answering a question by BJP MLA Prasanta Kumar Jagadev, the forest minister said the maximum number of elephants died due to different diseases in the above period. As many as 305 jumbos succumbed to various diseases during the last 10 years and till November this year.

SinghKhuntia further noted that natural causes such as sunstroke, conflict with each other, falling off hilltops, etc. are also responsible for the deaths of 229 elephants in Odisha jungles during the last ten years. Similarly, 149 pachyderms died in the state due to electrocution in the state from 2014-15 till November 2024.

Poachers killed 30 elephants while reasons behind the death of 90 jumbos were not ascertained. As many as 36 jumbos were killed in train and road accidents during the last ten years.

The Forest Minister also revealed that elephant censuses carried out in the state in May 2015, May 2017, May and November 2024 have recorded the presence of as many as 1954, 1976, 2098 and 2103 elephants in the forests across Odisha respectively.

As per reports, 26 people have recently been arrested in the state in connection with elephant deaths while two forest guards and one forester have been placed under suspension for dereliction of their duties.

Similarly, 668 persons were killed due to attacks by elephants across the state during the last three years. As many as 509 persons sustained serious injuries due to human-elephant conflict in the state during the above period.

The reports further revealed that elephants killed 139 domestic animals and damaged 10259 houses during the last three years in Odisha. The jumbo herds also destroyed crops in around 73620 acres of land in the state in the same period.

/IANS