Elephants raiding crops create deadly conflict between farmers and conservation, with welfare harms on both sides requiring innovative coexistence solutions to protect both human livelihoods and elephant lives.
Elephants killed in retaliatory conflict die from spearing, poisoning, or shooting — often slow and painful deaths. Injured conflict elephants may suffer for days or weeks. Orphaned calves from killed adults face high mortality without extended rehabilitation. Farmers facing crop destruction also suffer severe economic harm and psychological distress. Effective coexistence solutions that protect both human livelihoods and elephant welfare require community-level engagement, economic support, and proven deterrent technologies deployed at scale.