A lone elephant kills farmer, after he leaves hamlet following a tiff with family members, in Andhra Pradesh’s Kuppam region

Lone elephant fatally attacks farmer in Kuppam, highlighting human-elephant conflict and need for better conservation efforts.

A lone elephant on June 16 created terror at the PMK Tanda in the Kuppam Assembly constituency, by fatally attacking a farmer.

The incident occurred when the deceased Kanna Naik (70) was on his way to the field abutting the forests in the early hours. It is observed that the lone elephant has been on the prowl between the forests of Tamil Nadu and Kuppam region during the last fortnight. Forest and police officials visited the spot and shifted the body to the area hospital for autopsy.

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District Forest Officer (DFO) C. Chaitanya Kumar Reddy told The Hindu that the farmer after a tiff with his family members had ventured close to the forest at an unusual hour, despite warning that the region was frequented by wild elephants, coupled with the presence of two lone elephants.

“In the last one week, I visited the PMK Thanda twice and alerted the villagers to avoid night vigils at the fields and moving at nights alone. We will provide the family members of Kanna Naik with ₹5 lakh as ex-gratia,” he said.

However, residents residing in the forested hamlets expressed their anger at the forest officials, citing the failure to effectively prevent elephant attacks, despite their repeated appeals. This failure is attributed to insufficient staffing levels, particularly in the role of elephant trackers, resulting in limited knowledge of the elephants’ movements.

The Kuppam Constituency, boasting the largest expanse of forest land, has been home to elephants for the past four decades.