Bhubaneswar: Altogether 799 people were killed in wild animal attacks in Odisha in the last five years, a minister said in the Assembly Tuesday.
The state reported deaths of 2,832 wild animals during the period, he said.
In a written reply to a query by BJP legislator Padma Lochan Panda, Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia said 2,832 elephants, tigers and other wild animals died in Odisha from 2020-21 to 2024-25 (so far), of which 806 were killed due to poaching.
Altogether, 4,043 people were arrested for their alleged involvement in the killing of wild animals during the five-year period, he said.
As many as 799 people were killed and 1,962 others injured in elephant and other wild animal attacks during the period, the minister said.
As per the data provided by the minister, deaths of 318 wild animals were reported in the Dhenkanal forest division, the highest among forest areas in the state, in the last five years.
The deaths of 197 wild animals were reported in the Athagarh forest division, followed by Angul (151), Balasore (117) Nayagarh (113) and Chilika (103).
Of 806 wild animals killed by poachers, 75 were reported in the Dhenkanal forest division, followed by 63 in Nayagarh, 55 each in Athamallik and Similipal South wildlife divisions, Khuntia said.
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The other forest divisions that account for a high number of poaching deaths during the period include Athagarh (50), Boudh (31), Redhakhol (29), Keonjhar (29), Cuttack (27), Rajnagar (27), and Satkosia (26).
The minister also informed the House that the highest of 147 people were killed by wild animals in the Dhenkanal forest division of the state and 76 in the Angul division during the five years.
The Keonjhar forest division reported 69 such death cases, followed by 54 in Baripada and 47 in the Rourkala forest division.
According to official sources, the forest department is providing an ex-gratia of Rs 6 lakh to the next of kin of the person, who died in a wild animal attack in the state.
PTI
