An elephant trampled to death a 36-year-old woman near Munnar in Idukki district of Kerala on Friday after the bike she was riding pillion on with her husband skidded at a hairpin bend in the hilly region.
Police said P Viji and her husband panicked after seeing the elephant on a road and the bike skidded while the latter was trying to take a U-turn. Both fell on the road before the elephant charged at them and trampled Viji. The husband received minor injuries.
Police said the couple worked at a tea plantation and were going to work after meeting their relatives.
The woman’s death is the latest in fatalities linked to the human-animal conflict in Kerala. According to the Kerala forest department, 173 people died in human-animal conflicts in the state from 2010 to 2020,. The highest number of deaths were reported in 2016 – 33. Among 173, 120 died in elephant attacks. As many as 64 elephants also died over the last decade in the state.
Wildlife experts say the straying of elephants into human habitations can be contained by protecting animal corridors. They say one of the main reasons for elephant attacks in Idukki is encroachment along Anamalai-Periyar Tiger Reserve’s elephant corridor.
