Instances of human-wildlife conflict have declined in Wayanad district, a region known for most such cases in the country, data with the Forests Department show.
As per the data, three persons lost their lives in wildlife attacks, including one to snakebite, in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and two in the South Wayanad Forest Division in 2017-18 fiscal.
As many as eight people were killed in wildlife attack in 2016-17 fiscal, the highest in a decade in the three forest divisions in the district, including the North Wayanad Forest Division. The toll was seven in 2011-12 fiscal.
In 2017-18, ₹224.52 lakh was disbursed as compensation in 3,781 cases in the three divisions while ₹263.7 lakh was disbursed in 4,136 cases in 2016-17. While applications for crop damages declined to 3,393 from 3,946, those for cattle-lifting cases increased to 197 from 163 during the period.
The number of human injuries in wildlife attacks also increased to 48 in 2017-18, against 37 in 2016-17.
While remedial measures such as trenches, stone walls, and solar fences deterred animals from entering human habitatations, habitat improvement steps adopted by the department and efforts of frontline forest staff helped to reduce man-animal conflict, department sources said.
