Rogue elephant kills four from same family over 14 years in Nepal

A rogue elephant, known as Dhurbe, has tragically killed four members of the same family in Nepal over a 14-year period, highlighting the persistent challenges of human-wildlife conflict.

The latest attack occurred when Dhurbe broke into the home of Shanichara Bote, killing his daughter-in-law, Ashika Bote, and his four-year-old grandson, Bharat Bote. This devastating event forced Shanichara, who had already relocated his family once to escape the elephant's threat, to confront the same danger again. He had previously lost his father and mother to Dhurbe in 2012.

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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.

"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," Shanichara recounted, visibly shaken. "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."

Dhurbe's history of violence is well-documented within Chitwan National Park. Conservationists explain that mature male elephants, driven from their herds, often adopt a solitary and aggressive existence, viewing human settlements as foraging grounds. Official park records indicate Dhurbe has been directly responsible for the deaths of at least 25 individuals since 2010. Information officer Abinash Thapa Magar confirmed that satellite tracking data placed the elephant near the site of the latest incident on Saturday night, bringing the confirmed death toll attributed to this single elephant to 25.

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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. Prior to this tragic incident, Dhurbe had officially claimed 23 human lives. With these two latest casualties in Jagatpur, the confirmed number of fatalities attributed to this single elephant has now risen to 25.