47-year-old Vijayan was returning home from work near Chinnakkanal when he encountered the tusker. The latest death has intensified concern over recurring human-elephant conflict in the Devikulam forest range.
Idukki, Kerala | September 23, 2026
A 47-year-old tribal man was killed by a wild tusker near Chinnakkanal in Kerala’s Idukki district early Wednesday morning, marking the fourth fatal wild-elephant attack in the Devikulam forest range in just four months.
The victim, identified as Vijayan of Panniyar, encountered the elephant while returning home from a work shed at around 6.30 am. The tusker involved in the incident is locally known as Chakkakompan (Chakkakomban).
Vijayan Tried to Escape
According to local residents, Vijayan came face-to-face with Chakkakompan at Panthadikkalam near Chinnakkanal.
On seeing the elephant, he reportedly attempted to run away. The tusker chased him and attacked him, causing severe injuries. Vijayan died at the spot. Forest Department personnel subsequently reached the area and initiated the necessary proceedings.
Second Fatal Attack in the Area Within a Week
Vijayan’s death comes less than a week after another fatal elephant encounter in the same wider landscape.
On September 17, a migrant worker from Madhya Pradesh was killed by a wild elephant near Ayyanpara in Santhanpara. In August, a 68-year-old farmer was killed near Thalakkulam, Pooppara, while another fatal attack occurred in Chinnakkanal in June.
The four deaths within four months have heightened concerns among people living and working around the Devikulam forest range.
Forest Department Agrees to Relocate Three Elephants
Following Vijayan’s death, local residents protested and demanded action to prevent further casualties.
Forest officials subsequently assured residents that Chakkakompan and two female wild elephants known to enter inhabited areas would be relocated from the region, according to reports.
A separate report said the Forest Department plans to carry out the relocation process within two months. It also reported that Vijayan’s wife would be offered temporary employment and that unauthorised fencing on private estates in the area would be removed.
Chinnakkanal’s Long-Running Human-Elephant Conflict
Chinnakkanal and neighbouring areas of Idukki have experienced recurring encounters between people and wild elephants.
Plantations, settlements and elephant habitat occur close to one another in this landscape, creating circumstances in which people and elephants can encounter each other while travelling, working or foraging.
Chakkakompan itself is well known locally and has periodically entered inhabited areas, according to reports.
The latest fatality underlines the difficult conservation challenge facing authorities: protecting people living in elephant-use landscapes while ensuring that measures taken to reduce conflict do not simply transfer the problem to another location.
Long-term mitigation will require identifying elephant movement routes, improving early-warning systems, managing attractants and barriers, and ensuring rapid response when elephants approach settlements.
For Vijayan’s family and the communities around Chinnakkanal, however, the immediate concern is more fundamental — preventing another fatal encounter.
Source credit: . Additional reporting: Onmanorama and other Kerala news sources.
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