Preventable human deaths from conflict with wildlife

The recent fatal attack on Ashika Bote and her young son by Dhurbe, a wild elephant known to have killed 23 people since 2010, has deeply shaken Nepal. This tragedy, which echoes a similar attack on two other family members in 2012, starkly illustrates the devastating consequences when humans and wildlife compete for shared spaces.

Human-wildlife conflict has reached alarming levels across Nepal's forest fringes. The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation reported over 12,000 wildlife attack cases in 2021-2022, resulting in 58 deaths and numerous injuries. Chitwan National Park, a major conservation area, has seen over 120 human fatalities from animal attacks in just over a decade. The repeated deaths caused by Dhurbe, even after authorities attempted to kill him in 2012 and later fitted him with a satellite-tracking collar, underscore a systemic failure to protect the delicate balance between people and wildlife.

Authorities have struggled to address the root causes driving wildlife into human settlements. Habitat loss and fragmentation, particularly in areas like Chitwan National Park where grasslands have significantly diminished, force animals like elephants to seek resources outside their natural territories. More than half of Nepal's potential elephant habitats lie outside protected areas, pushing these animals into human-dominated landscapes. This unstable environment inevitably leads to increased conflict and loss of life for both humans and wildlife.

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This is a heartbreaking reminder that when humans and wildlife compete for the same space to live, the result is often devastating for both sides.