Human-elephant conflict (HEC) is a major threat to both species in some rural forest areas of Kerala, India. Every year, about 50 elephants and 50 people are killed. Kerala Forest and Wildlife Department estimates that there are 6,000 elephants in the state. Official records show that 50 people die and 1,000 are injured in elephant attacks in Kerala every year. Kerala has the highest number of elephant attacks of any country in Asia. According to the 1993 elephant census, Kerala had 4,286 wild elephants. That number increased to 5,706 in the 2017 census.
Background.
Kerala has a vast forest area of , which covers more than 29.1% of the total geographical area of the state. Human–wildlife conflict is common on the fringes of these forests. Due to the significant increase in population and increasing anthropogenic pressure on the forest areas, human-wildlife interaction and the resulting conflict have increased sharply in recent times. The conflicts have resulted in damage to crops, houses and property, cattle being carried away, injuries to humans and deaths. More than 50 wild elephant attacks were reported in the state in the financial year 2024–25, and the number of deaths due to wild elephant attacks in the state has increased.
Protests.
Locals and various political and cultural organizations are continuing their protests against the lack of a solution to the elephant attacks in Kerala near areas where elephant attacks have happened.
On 24 February 2025, protesters and villagers in Aralam blocked an ambulance carrying the bodies of a couple killed in a wild elephant attack. The protesters refused to let the ambulance through until Kerala Forest Minister A. K. Saseendran arrived.
Elephants in Kerala.
Along with a large population of wild elephants, Kerala has more than seven hundred captive elephants. Most of them are owned by temples and individuals. Elephants were owned and maintained largely for their use in festivals, but some elephants were also used for timber logging