Protest Erupts in Wayanad After Second Fatal Elephant Attack in Two Weeks

Wayanad: Relatives and local residents staged a protest outside a hospital in Wayanad after a plantation worker who had been injured in a wild elephant attack succumbed to his injuries, marking the second fatal elephant-related incident in the district within just over two weeks.

The deceased has been identified as Raju (65), a resident of Pulimoodukunnu in Kattikulam. He was attacked by a wild elephant at around 10 a.m. on Wednesday and sustained serious injuries.

Raju was rushed to the Government Medical College Hospital in Mananthavady, where he died at around 2 pm despite medical treatment.

According to reports, the elephant had strayed into a human habitation area and was being driven back into the forest by forest department personnel when it attacked Raju, who was working in a nearby plantation.

Following his death, family members and local residents gathered outside the hospital and refused to allow the body to be moved, demanding stronger measures to prevent recurring wildlife attacks in the region.

The incident comes less than three weeks after another fatal elephant attack in Wayanad.

On May 26, a young woman was killed by a wild elephant at Kalladi in Meppadi. She was travelling on a scooter with her husband along the Meppadi–Chooralmala road when the animal attacked them.

With the latest death, two people have lost their lives in elephant attacks in Wayanad within a span of 16 days, intensifying concerns over escalating human-wildlife conflict in the district.

Residents of forest-fringe areas have repeatedly raised concerns about the increasing movement of wild elephants into populated regions and have called for more effective preventive measures from the Forest Department.

The latest tragedy has renewed demands for enhanced monitoring, rapid-response teams, and long-term solutions to protect both human lives and wildlife in one of Kerala's most vulnerable conflict zones.