An elephant, which was part of a herd of four, killed a farmer when he stepped on the path of the animal while the elephants were feasting on ripe mangoes on trees in his courtyard at Pukuria village in Jhargram early on Thursday.
Farmer Parimal Mahato, 60, whose home is around 8km from Jhargram town, had planted a few mango trees adjacent to his house a few years ago.
Villagers said that the four elephants had been visiting Parimal’s mango orchard on and off for the past three days drawn to the ripe mangoes. They returned to the orchard early on Thursday morning.
Around 6am, Parimal stepped out of his two-storey mud house into the courtyard without knowing that the jumbos were eating the mangoes. When the farmer spotted the elephant, he did not get time to escape as he was lifted by its trunk and dashed to the ground.
His wife Pramila, who was sweeping another part of the courtyard, heard his screams and rushed to see the elephant holding up her husband with its trunk. She rushed to her neighbours, screaming for help, but by the time she returned with her son Krishna and neighbours, Parimal was prostrate on the ground.
“I couldn’t do anything when I saw my husband wrapped by the elephant’s trunk,” said a weeping Pramila. “When I returned with others, it was too late.”
Forest officials recovered Parimal from the courtyard and rushed him to the hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Angry villagers protested for half an hour when forest officials arrived to take Parimal to the hospital. They demanded human settlements be protected from elephant raids.
Deepak M., the divisional forest officer (DFO) of the Midnapore division, who is currently in charge of Jhargram, said that although the mango orchard was on private land, elephants cannot recognise such boundaries, especially in villages surrounded by forest.
“Elephants naturally went for the mangoes, as they are a good and delicious source of food. The mishap occurred when the man suddenly came in front of the elephant. However, we are trying our best to prevent such incidents,” said the DFO.
Bereaved son Krishna said that their mango orchard was full of fruit this year. “My father had invited our relatives to come and collect mangoes. He was passionate about those trees,” he said.
Several forest officers explained that during summer, when most fields are empty, elephants usually rely on fruits, particularly mangoes, jackfruits and cashews.
In regions like Jhargram, West Midnapore and Bankura, where natural food sources are scarce, elephants often roam villages in search of fruit trees. During this time, the pachyderms also raid homes to eat stored paddy or vegetables. As a result, human-elephant conflict has become a major challenge for forest officials.
The forest department has in recent months launched several initiatives to plant fruit trees and various types of vegetation like bamboo and grasses to provide food sources for elephants.
Many in the forest department noted that preventing human-elephant conflict in Jhargram was a significant challenge. Around 170–200 elephants roam across the South Bengal forest region at any given time, but the jungles lack enough vegetation for the animals.
“The forest can’t accommodate such a large number of elephants due to its geography and nature. There are hundreds of hamlets within the forests and separating them is not feasible. So yes, human-elephant conflict is a challenge here,” said a senior forest official.