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Rogue Elephant Dhurbe Kills Four in Family Over 14 Years in Nepal

From The Straits Times · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • A rogue elephant named Dhurbe has killed four members of the same family in Nepal over 14 years, most recently a daughter-in-law and grandson.
  • The family had migrated twice to escape the elephant, but it continued to track and attack them.
  • Dhurbe has been responsible for at least 25 deaths since 2010, and park officials are using a tracking collar to monitor its movements.

In Nepal's Chitwan National Park region, a single wild elephant, known as Dhurbe, has become a relentless terror for one family, claiming four lives over a span of 14 years. The latest victims, Ashika Bote, 25, and her four-year-old grandson Bharat Bote, were killed in their home on July 11, just hours after the elephant broke in.

We originally lived at Dropatinagar in the Madi area, but the constant terror of wild elephants forced us to sell what we had and migrate to Jagatpur. We believed that moving across the major rivers would keep us safe. But after all these years, the exact same elephant found us again, raided our home, and took my daughter-in-law and my little grandson. There is nowhere left for us to run.

— Shanichara BoteShanichara Bote described his family's repeated displacement and the devastating loss due to the elephant's attacks.

Shanichara Bote, the patriarch, has been forced to uproot his life twice to escape Dhurbe's wrath. After his parents were trampled to death by the elephant in 2012, he migrated with his family across rivers to a new settlement. However, the elephant's persistent threat followed, culminating in the recent attack. "There is nowhere left for us to run," Shanichara stated, expressing profound shock and despair.

Dhurbe's violent history dates back to at least 2010, with official park records attributing at least 25 human deaths to the elephant. Conservationists explain that male elephants, driven from their herds, often adopt a solitary and aggressive existence, viewing human settlements as foraging grounds. This pattern appears to apply to Dhurbe, who has become a notorious menace in the area.

We have been utilising a satellite tracking collar to monitor the movements of this highly aggressive male elephant. Our data logs show that his location coordinates were pinned directly around the perimeter of the incident site on Saturday night.

— Abinash Thapa MagarAbinash Thapa Magar, information officer at Chitwan National Park, explained the monitoring efforts for the elephant.

Park officials are attempting to manage the situation by using a satellite tracking collar to monitor Dhurbe's movements. "Our data logs show that his location coordinates were pinned directly around the perimeter of the incident site on Saturday night," said Abinash Thapa Magar, an information officer at Chitwan National Park. Despite these efforts, the repeated tragedies highlight the ongoing challenges of human-wildlife conflict in the region.

Prior to this tragic incident, Dhurbe had officially claimed 23 human lives. With these two latest casualties i

— Abinash Thapa MagarAbinash Thapa Magar provided the death toll attributed to the elephant.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Straits Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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