A woman has died after being trampled by an Elephant at a resort in the Wayanad District of Kerala State, India, on Saturday 23 January 2021. The victim, described as Shahana Sathar, the head of the psychology department at the Darunnujoom College of Arts and Science, was staying in a tent at a campsite on the resort with her cousin and a friend; she was reportedly attacked by a wild Elephant while sitting near the tent, and died of crush injuries to the chest at the scene of the incident. The resort has now been closed by Forest Department officials, who had previously warned the owner about the dangers of locating campsites too close to the forest edge, and who are now planning legal action. The campsite is described as being located on a landslide-prone slope, surrounded by dense forest, with no protection from animals. Local environmental group Wayanad Prakruti Samrakshana Samiti has warned about the large number of such camps that have sprung up in the region, with about 300 ventures operating campsites and tree huts in the forests, with no official permission and little regard for the safety of guests or the environment.
The population of India has risen from 376 million in 1950 to 1339 million today, fuelling an expansion of both urban and agricultural land use into former wilderness areas. The wild Elephant population has declined over the same period, but still stands at about 27 000. Many animals will simply flee such incursions, or, if unable to, are likely to end up in the cooking pots of hungry villagers. Elephants, however, are a somewhat different proposition. They are large animals, not used to being challenged by other animals in their home ranges, and typically live in matriarchal herds of up to a hundred, with herds holding large territories, criss-crossed by Elephant trails. A herd of Elephants encountering a new Human settlement, particularly a poorly defended structure, are unlikely to attempt to go round it, and are quite likely to maximise the damage they cause to show their displeasure. This has resulted in an increasing cycle of Elephant-Human conflict in rural areas of India, with 2361 people killed by Elephants between 2014 and 2019, while in the same period 510 Elephants were killed by people.
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