Wild elephant tramples 74-year-old farmer to death in Andhra Pradesh

A 74-year-old farmer is trampled to death by a wild elephant in Andhra Pradesh

VIZIANAGARAM: In another incident of human-wildlife conflict in Andhra Pradesha 74-year-old man was trampled by a wild elephant almost Peda Bondapalli village in Parvathipuram Manyam district on Thursday.
The deceased was identified as Devabattula Yacoob. Despite the best efforts of the elephant trackers to save him, he succumbed to his injuries while being transported to the hospital.
With Yacoob’s death, the total number of deaths in human-elephant conflicts in the Parvathipuram Manyam region has reached 12 in the last decade.
This latest incident has sparked fear among the residents of Peda Bondapalli and nearby villages. Locals have reported that a herd of seven elephants, including a calf, has been roaming Peda Bondapalli for the past few days.
The herd damaged standing crops, prompting forest officials to issue warnings through megaphones in Peda Bondapalli and nearby areas.
Residents said Yacoob had gone to his paddy field to remove weeds when a female elephant, which was protecting her newborn calf, attacked him.
In August this year, a 62-year-old man named Vana Sivudi Naidu was also trampled by an elephant in Vannam village of Komarada mandal in Manyam district.
Elephants have killed 12 people and destroyed property and crops valued at over Rs 6 crore in Manyam district in the last decade. However, officials have yet to successfully relocate elephants to forest areas, failing to protect local animal lives and property, said K Samba Murthy, an activist from Manyam district.
In June, a 52-year-old man, identified as Kanna Naik of PMK Thanda under Ramakuppam ward, was killed by a lone soldier near the tri-state border at Kuppam in Chittoor district.
According to NCRB data on accidental deaths and suicides, a total of 159 people were killed by animals in Andhra Pradesh between 2017 and 2022, with the majority of victims being men.
While the NCRB does not specify which animals were responsible, officials from the police and forest departments indicate that elephants and bears are the deadliest animals in some districts of the state.
Human-elephant and human-bear conflicts are prevalent in two-three districts in the state.