1,398 Human-Animal Conflict Deaths Reported in Odisha in 10 Years

Bhubaneswar: As many as 1,398 people have died in human-animal conflicts across Odisha in the past decade, Forest, Environment & Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia informed the State Assembly on Tuesday.

Responding to a query from Patna MLA Akhila Chandra Naik, the Minister said the Dhenkanal Forest Division accounted for the highest number of casualties with 251 deaths, followed by Keonjhar with 125 and Angul with 119 fatalities.

The state government has provided compensation amounting to ₹6,174.68 lakh to the families of victims, Singhkhuntia said. Of this, ₹1,014.20 lakh was disbursed to the next of kin of victims in the Dhenkanal division alone.

The Minister further informed that 5,609 wild animals—including elephants, tigers and leopards—died in Odisha during the same period due to various causes.

To mitigate human-animal conflicts, the Forest Department has been undertaking several initiatives, such as strengthening and securing wildlife habitats, conducting plantation drives, creating pasturelands, deploying anti-poaching squads and enhancing monitoring through technology and public awareness programmes.

Sharing wildlife census data from the last decade, Singhkhuntia said Odisha currently hosts 2,103 elephants, 30 tigers and 696 leopards.

In 2024–25, 9.04 lakh olive ridley turtles were recorded at the Rushikulya river mouth and 6.07 lakh at the Gahirmatha Marine Wildlife Sanctuary. The state also documented 159 Irrawaddy dolphins and 710 other dolphin species in Chilika and along the Odisha coast during the same period.