719 elephants, 55 tigers died in Odisha in last 10 years: Forest Minister
Bhubaneswar: Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia today made a shocking revelation in the State Assembly saying that as many as 719 elephants and 55 tigers have died in Odisha in last 10 years.
The Minister informed that 719 elephants died due to different reasons in the State while a total of 41 elephants were poached by the hunters from 2013-14 to 2023-24. Likewise, 1,145 people have lost their lives in elephant attack during this period of time, the Minister said while responding to a question asked by Khurda MLA Prashant Jagdev.
Similarly, 55 tigers, including 48 leopards and 7 Royal Bengals, died in Odisha between 2013-14 and 2023-24, informed Singh.
He further said that 25 tigers died due to poaching, 6 died due to drowning in water, 5 tigers killed in accidents and 4 tigers had died due to electrocution.