Incidents of human-elephant encounters during April, May and June this year have seen an increase of 26 per cent compared to the data of the past nine years during the same period, a survey done by theWildlife Society of Odishahas found.
According to the survey, these three months witness most encounters as humans and elephants vie for the same fruits such as mango, stoneappleand jackfruit.
There were as many as 93 human-elephant encounters in the three months this year compared to 69 incidents reported during the corresponding period in 2022.
As many as 57 people have died this year compared to 38 last year.
The sharp rise suggests that this year the number of human deaths could go up significantly compared to 146 last year.
Incidentally, this quarter also happens to have recorded the highest ever human deaths in elephant attack compared to the past nine years, the survey stated.