Geospatial Analysis of Elephant Mortalities by Electrocution from Northern Districts Landscape of West Bengal, India

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Elephants dying by electrocution have become more common in various states, including West Bengal's Northern District Landscape in India. Wildlife is at serious risk because of an illegal and dangerous electric fence that is located close to protected forest areas. Occasionally, people fence their fields to prevent elephant incursions, while at other times, farmers electrify their fences without authorization to protect their crops. This can have fatal consequences. This intensifies friction and frequently prompts farmers to take retaliatory action. The study aims to assess the extent of electrocution-related elephant mortality in the study region, identify different risk zones, and evaluate the underlying factors contributing to these deaths in forested areas spanning about 12000 km². The primary observation is taken with the help of surveying the places where the incidents occurred. The different information, such as year, month & time, etc., is gathered during field visits. The study has been evaluated using several significant criteria, including remote sensing and GIS data. The density tool is used to display the kernel density risk map with the help of incidence locations to analyze the risk of elephant mortality. This research suggests supporting conservation efforts for this keystone species and provides insights into conflict mitigation strategies by analysing mortality trends. The study emphasizes the need for effective measures by officials, Gram Panchayat representatives, and NGOs, including the Joint Forest Management Committee, to address high-risk zones for additional incidents. Asian elephant kernel Density Lethal fence Elephant mortalities Harmonious relationship Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Introduction The Asian elephant ( Elephas maximus ) is classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List (Choudhury et al., 2008 ) and is also included in Appendix I of CITES (CITES, 2013 ) as well as Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The primary threats to this species include habitat destruction, fragmentation, and poaching for ivory (Sukumar, 2006 ). Northeast India has a large population of elephants, with an estimated 10,139 individuals, including 488 in the Northern Bengal region, as published in the All India Synchronized Elephant Population Estimation ( 2017 ). The IUCN Red List now lists the Asian elephant ( Elephas maximus ), a symbol of the Indian subcontinent, as Endangered because of habitat loss, fragmentation, and threats from humans. Human-induced mortality is recognized as a significant factor impacting threatened species. Among the various causes, the expansion and development of power grids contribute notably to wildlife fatalities (Sundar & Choudhury, 2005 ; Guil et al., 2011 ). The mortality rate from electrocution is one of the most urgent issues in elephant conservation since it has become a major contributor to unnatural elephant fatalities worldwide. Conflicts between people and elephants have gotten worse as human populations rise and natural habitats decline, especially in areas where human settlements and tea garden-cropland areas cross over into elephant circulation corridors. As human populations grow and wildlife habitats shrink, interactions between humans and wildlife are becoming more frequent. When conventional deterrents such as watchtowers, loud noises, and firecrackers prove ineffective, fencing is often employed as a barrier. Both electrified and non-electrified fences are commonly used to restrict the movement of large herbivores (Lindsey et al., 2012 ) and to protect settlements, agricultural fields, and livestock from foraging animals (Hayward & Kerley, 2009 ). The electrocution elephant deaths are becoming rampant across many other states in India. According to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF and CC), a record 1,160 elephants were killed in the nation for non-natural reasons in the ten years ending in December 2020. The 115 elephants were killed for human reasons in 2018–19, and 105 in 2017–18 by electrocution. Over 700 elephants were killed by electrocution (2009- 31st December 2020). India lost 82 elephants in 2021–2022, 57 of whom perished from electrocution, among other unnatural causes. A study was published by Palei et al. ( 2014 ) in Odisha, who reported 91 electrocution incidents between 2001 and 2012, killing 118 individual elephants, with an incidence of 85.7% that coincided with Kharif crop seasons (Dash et al., 2024). Odisha and Karnataka each lost 133 elephants to electrocution during that time. There were 13 elephants killed by electrocution in Odisha, seven in Karnataka, six in Kerala, five in Tamil Nadu, four in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, and two in each of Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal in 2022. Additionally, the frequency of elephant fatalities from unnatural causes has decreased on a nationwide basis. In the study area, there were 11 electrocution elephant deaths in Gorumara National Park (GNP) to total of 27 elephant deaths since 2014; 11 deaths to total of 30 elephant deaths since 2006 in Baikunthapur Forest Division (BFD); and 10 deaths, for a total of 30 since 2006 in Kurseong Forest Division (KFD). In addition, 13 electrocution elephant deaths of a total of 30 elephant deaths since 2006 in the Jalpaiguri Forest Division (JFD) have happened (based on an unpublished report from the forest department). Electrified fences are generally installed to minimize conflicts between humans and wildlife (Evans & Adams, 2016 ). However, in some instances, these fences are illegally modified to kill animals perceived as threats (Menon et al., 1997 ). Electrocution-related elephant fatalities have become increasingly common, particularly during the cropping season. These incidents not only threaten elephant populations but also result in human casualties, exacerbating the conflict between communities and wildlife. Elephant electrocutions have, however, alarmingly increased in this area, mostly as a result of unauthorized electric fencing and unintentional contact with high-voltage power lines. Farmers sometimes electrify their fences without permission in an attempt to defend their crops against elephant invasions, which can have deadly results. The danger of electrocution is significantly increased by exposed or badly maintained electrical transmission cables. Intentional electrocution refers to cases where power lines were deliberately used to kill elephants, either for crop protection, house protection or poaching. This method involves attaching a wire, supported by an insulated rod or dry bamboo cane, to a high-tension power line that runs through an elephant’s known movement corridor. These wires are positioned at the approximate chest height of an elephant, often resulting in instant death. India accounts for many elephant mortalities due to Train Accidents, Electrocution, Poaching and Poisoning in last few years. Of the 82 elephants that died in 2021–2022 for unnatural causes included 57 perished from electrocution. This number hardly changed in 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 (unpublished data, MOEF). In 2022–2023 and 2023–2024, 94 and 100 elephants died in India, respectively. In India, unauthorized electric fences are frequently used to prevent crop damage by Asian elephants. Overhead electric power lines have been identified as a contributing factor to the decline of the Asian elephant ( Elephas maximus ) (Gubbi, 2009 ); however, limited research in India has specifically addressed this issue. Very little research work has been done and now this is a burning problem about the elephant conservation in many states of India as well as in West Bengal. Despite their ecological significance, elephants in North Bengal face growing threats due to habitat degradation and human encroachment (Palei et al. 2014 ; Naha et al. 2019 ). With dwindling natural forage, elephants frequently raid agricultural fields in search of food, leading to substantial crop losses, particularly of rice, maize, and wheat. This results in heightened conflict, often leading to retaliatory actions by farmers. A critical consequence of this conflict is electrocution, as elephants meet low-hanging or illegally electrified fencing around farmlands. Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive approach that integrates ecological conservation, sustainable land-use planning, and community-based conflict mitigation strategies. Despite the increasing number of elephant fatalities due to electrocution, systematic studies on electrical mortality patterns in the Northern Districts Landscape (NDL) of West Bengal remain limited. Understanding the spatial and temporal distribution of these incidents is essential for devising effective mitigation strategies. The present study aims to assess the extent of electrocution-related elephant mortality in the region, identify high-risk zones, and evaluate the underlying factors contributing to these deaths with forested areas spanning about 3000 km². By analysing mortality patterns, this research seeks to provide insights into conflict mitigation measures and contribute to the conservation efforts for this keystone species. Materials and Methods Study area: The NDL of West Bengal, encompassing the districts of Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, and Kalimpong, is a prominent hotspot for Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC). Spanning approximately 12,700 km², this ecologically rich region falls within the biogeographic zones of the Himalayas and the Gangetic Plains (Rodger et al., 2000). It is widely known as the Dooars, characterized by extensive alluvial floodplains intersected by numerous rivers originating from the Himalayan glaciers and flowing into the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta. The region is dominated by moist deciduous forests, with significant teak ( Tectona grandis ) and Sal ( Shorea robusta ) cover, providing essential habitats for elephants and other wildlife. The climate is tropical, with an average annual rainfall of approximately 3,100 mm and temperature variations ranging from below 10°C in winter to above 35°C in summer. Several major rivers, including the Mechi, Teesta, Jaldhaka, Torsa, Rydak, and Sankosh, traverse this landscape in a west-east direction, shaping its ecological productivity. However, these rivers are highly dynamic, prone to frequent flooding and course alterations, creating vast floodplains that influence both human settlements and wildlife habitats. Elephants are migrating from the Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR) forest in the east to the Mechi River in the west of the Kolabari-Bagdogra Forest for seasonal movement. The region is home to several protected and reserve areas, like as Jaldapara National Park (JNP), Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR), Gorumara National Park (GNP), and Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary (CWLS). These forests serve as critical habitats for elephants and host several transboundary elephant corridors that connect fragmented forest patches across India, Bhutan, and Nepal (fig-1). These corridors play a vital role in maintaining genetic diversity and ecological balance. However, rapid deforestation and expanding infrastructure have increasingly fragmented these habitats, leading to restricted elephant movement and rising incidents of HEC (Ghosh et al., 2024 ). In 2011, the entire population of this area was 8,489,354 with a density of 725 people per km², the bulk of whom (80%) resided in rural areas. The indigenous communities residing in the region, including the Totos, Rava, Mech, and Bhutia, have coexisted with elephants for generations. Additionally, central Indian tribes such as the Santhal, Oraon, Bhumij, and Munda were introduced to the area during the colonial period to work in tea plantations. These communities possess traditional ecological knowledge that contributes to conflict mitigation and conservation efforts. Satellite Image acquisition, processing, and analysis The objectives of this study were accomplished by utilizing a range of geographic information. The main dataset utilized was a Landsat-9 satellite picture obtained from the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) Earth Explorer open platform ( https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/ ) on December 14, 2024. The USGS Earth Explorer provided dry season and cloud-free Landsat images with a 15m spatial resolution. To create a combined satellite picture, the area needs three row-path satellite photos taken during the same period. The map projected to UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) and World Geodetic System (WGS) 1984 is used. From the 2024 images, seven LULC subclasses were found: agriculture, fallow land, river, sand bar, settlement, vegetation, and tea garden (fig-1). The Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLC) technique was used to classify the spectral data into a thematic map. This technique is required for supervised classification because it allocates information elements to classes based on the strongest likelihood derived from training data in a statistically reliable way, providing accurate and dependable results. Settlements of humans and agricultural fields with tea gardens make up the majority of the Northern district region. Finding the elements influencing elephant death required the use of these classes. For the production of land use and land cover (LULC) for December 4, 2024, this figure was utilized. The research region was divided into seven LULC classes using supervised classification techniques, following the approaches by Bouaziz et al. (2017) and Pal and Mather (2004, 2005). Based on the absolute area information for the LULC classes and the geographical distribution of the study regions, about 490 points were chosen for each class. Ground reality validation was used to confirm the categorization accuracy, evaluating both the producer's and user's accuracy. When the classification's accuracy exceeded 81% according to the Kappa coefficient (1), it was deemed suitable for analysis. (Smits and others, 1999) $$\:K=\frac{N\sum\:_{k=1}^{q}\:{n}_{\text{k}\text{k}-}\sum\:_{k=1}^{q}\:\left({G}_{k}{C}_{k}\right)}{{N}^{2}-\sum\:_{k=1}^{q}\:\left({G}_{k}{C}_{k}\right)}$$ 1 where the class number is k(small), the Kappa coefficient is K, the number of classified data to reference data is N, the values associated with class k are n kk , the total number of predicted pixels associated with class k is Ck, and the total number of truth values associated with class k is Gk. Researchers can measure, evaluate, and comprehend spatial patterns and correlations within the study region because to this divide, which makes systematic and accurate spatial analysis possible. The corresponding chosen class levels are shown, and the total area for land use and land cover is 12,000 km². Methods of data collection from the incident place Before starting the field survey, we obtained approval from the relevant authority using application Memo No. 53/WL-4R11 (PF-XV)/2021. Our first step involved collecting and consulting with authorities about elephant mortalities by electric fencing areas in the region to identify potential elephant deaths and the distance from the forest and protected areas. We have collected data for the region of NDL last 15 years (2010–2025) from Hill Circle, Wildlife North Circle, BTR, and Northern Circle Forest division of the West Bengal Government. During the field investigation conducted from 2022 to 2025 (January), covered target locations (n-63) were covered based on elephant mortalities by electrocution. Elephant mortalities occurred throughout the Terai areas of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Dooars area of Alipurduar (fig-1 and 2). The field visit started with communicating with forest officials, local people, and forest guides, and documenting each of the incidents (fig-3). After visiting every location, the record of those incidents was done by GPS Garmin (model: GPSMAP®64ST, accuracy ± 10m) and placed over Google Earth Pro and ArcGIS 10.8. The UTM 45N reference system (WGS, 1984 datum) was used to record presence locations using GPS. The forest officials also verified those points of elephant mortalities in their jurisdiction. The collected points were drawn with the help of the ArcGIS 10.8 software digitisation tool and superimposed upon the LULC and forest map to depict the environment. Primary data tabulation for GIS analysis After collecting location information, we used ArcGIS 10.8 for density mapping. The risk map is created using 63 incident locations within the study area. The density tool is used within the boundaries of the Northern Bengal districts. The kernel density is applied ultimately for visualizing the research work. The other information, such as year, month, and time, was noted during the visit to the places. The elephant corridor demarcated is demarcated by Project Elephant, MoEF & CC, Govt. of India. We have created such corridors using the line tool and created particular lengths and referenced them by WGS, 1984 datum level. The corridor was further verified by the forest division officials for better reference. The river line and corridor are superimposed over the prepared LULC map with electrocution elephant death locations (fig-2). The forest and protected area are collected from the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun. Then, we digitize both areas and overlay the map over the GIS platform. The collected information from the surveyed field has been arranged in one sheet of Microsoft Excel (2021). All this information was included using total events. The total events (63) were tabulated by particular serial number, and then the required information was put with the following serial number. This tabulated information is further classified into several categories to show temporal patterns of mortalities by electrocution (year, month, and time ) using Origin (2025) software. The distance from the corridor and the distance from the forest boundary to the collected points of electrocution deaths are calculated using the distance measurement tool in ArcGIS and tabulated in particular locations by following the serial number. The Origin software helped further to draw the curves for a better understanding of the interrelationship between two spatial elements. Electrocution conflict risk hotspot by Kernal Density Estimation Model Kernel density estimation (KDE) is a non-parametric technique that estimates the densities of certain characteristics at particular locations by using local information defined by windows, also known as kernels. In addition to its applications in criminology (Chainey and Ratcliffe, 2005 ; Boba, 2005 ), ecology (Brunsdon, 1995 ), public health, and epidemiology (e.g., Kelsall and Diggle, 1995 ; Gatrell et al., 1996 ; Rushton and Rushton et al., 1996; Sabel et al. 2000 ; Han et al., 2005 ), and other fields, KDE is a significant technique for mapping spatial patterns of point events. Now it is widely used in like Social and Economic Studies, Geospatial Analysis and Research, Agricultural Science and Public Health, Statistical Computation, Physics and Astronomy, Geography, Ecology, etc. Here, the KDE is applied to assess the Electrocution conflict risk in NDL region. The representation of KDE over a two-dimensional space is as follows (derived from Silverman, 1986 ). $$\:\widehat{f}(x,y)=\frac{1}{n{h}^{2}}\sum\:_{i=1}^{n}\:K\left(\frac{{d}_{i,(x,y)}}{h}\right)$$ 2 where di,(x,y) is the distance between event point I and location (x, y); \(\:\widehat{f}\) (x,y) is the estimated density value at location (x, y); n is the total number of event points under consideration (e.g., disease cases); h is a measure of the window width and is known as kernel bandwidth (e.g., for a circular kernel it is the radius of the circle); and K is a density function that describes how the contribution of point I varies as a function of di,(x,y). The point locations of elephant mortalities, the distributed locations is in at risk, over which the importance of a mortality case to a given location is determined only by the geographic distance between the points. Using Eq. ( 2 ), the performance of KDE is prepared by the Density tool in ArcGIS 10.8 software. Using the point location, the final map is prepared by observing the fitted grid resolution and bandwidth resolution of KDE. Results Here, we describe only after analyzing the data set on how we find several factors contribute to elephant deaths due to electric fences and live wires: Causes of Elephant Mortalities by Electrocution (EME) Low-hanging electric wire –Many electric fences are illegally installed and poorly regulated, delivering lethal shocks instead of just deterring elephants. It is a common cause of elephant mortalities in the Northern area. Many Electric Fences are not installed at suitable and safe heights. Power wires that sag when electrical poles or pylons are placed far apart are the main cause of this, as illegal tapping of high- and low-tension wires (Rangarajan et al., 2010 ) or the use of inverters from a direct current (DC) source (battery) to power fences erected to guard homes and crop fields. This unsafe structure delivers fatal shocks upon body and trunk contact, leading to elephant mortality. Assam, India, which is the habitat to more than 5,000 elephants, engages in such activities (MOEF, 2017). We observed a few cases (fig-4) that happened from this cause and resulted in elephant death. Unscientific installation by power supply department – Poorly maintained electric fences pose a significant threat to wildlife. Electric fences installed at unsafe heights or using non-standard wiring can result in direct electrocution. The region is an important trap for fatal elephant accidents due to improper installation in and around the tea garden, tea colonies, and crop fields. Sometimes, high-voltage wires are broken or sagging at low height, and people are not aware of this wild animal movement, causing wildlife or giant animal deaths. Without regular upkeep, these fences become hazardous obstacles rather than protective barriers. Lack of proper maintenance – In Northern Bengal, poor upkeep of electricity sockets has emerged as the prime reason for elephant electrocution. Sagging power lines, exposed live wires, and defective transformers are extreme dangers for elephants, particularly in the outskirts of forests and in corridors. Due to frequent breakage and delayed repairs, or poor inspection, elephants often come in contact with these installations and die from electrocution. The best ways to mitigate this intensifying problem include strengthening maintenance protocols, performing regular monitoring, and using insulated or underground cables or formed Anti-Electrocution Cells (AEC). The diagram (fig-4) shows the number of death cases observed in the field in the study area Illegal poaching by fencing – In other instances, the wires are used as a means of retaliation by villagers against elephants that damage crops or property. The use of such illegal methods increases the elephant mortality rate manyfold. Broken and sagging wires accidentally create snares, such that reverse electrocution occurs when elephants try to pass through. The trunk and giant body are trapped by power wires and ultimately death. Protected assets by stakeholders – Farmers and villagers may use electric fences to protect their assets from elephant attack, unknowingly causing fatalities. The intentional and unintentional electrocution activities are observed around the forest village boundaries and outside the forest boundary crop field. This technique of sagging electric lines and using it as a barrier caused conflict, and ultimately, many elephant deaths happened in the last 20 years. This method of killing (intentional) involves attaching a wire to a high-tension power line that passes along a known elephant trail, along with an insulated rod or dried bamboo cane. When an elephant is bound with wires that are around chest height, the animal usually perishes instantaneously. Protected crops by stakeholders Protecting crops and causing elephant death is a common issue in India. In the study area, the forest fringe people encroached the elephant habitat and living there illegally - causing HEC. When they become protect crop farms against elephant causes HEC. Expanding crop fields for human demand and unscientific destruction of forest cover land are also causing HEC. HEC is become an important issue in the study area, resulting in both human and elephant causalities occurring in different land use areas. Fencing installed in unscientifically leads to be elephant fatal. The people are protecting their crop fields by these illegally installed wires, called fences. As a result, elephants trying to enter a particular crop field at night when people are not protecting during this time, results in elephant death. So, these are all effective causes for elephant mortality by electrocution. The diagram (fig-4) illustrates that protecting crops is a significant cause of death, and farmers or landowners also use fencing. Diurnal pattern of elephant mortalities by electrocution Such type of deaths is varied yearly and seasonally (monthly). Elephants are one of the largest animals in the world. It is observed that they have died every year for conflicting nature nexus with human activities and especially by illegal power fencing. They died in every year in between 2006 and 2024 as information gathered from Government circle (fig-5). Based on the field survey, the highest number of elephant electrocution deaths occurred in 2016 and 2020, with 08 deaths each. The average number of deaths per year over the recorded period is ± 3.32, with a maximum of 08 deaths in 2016 and 2020. This frequency of deaths has increased more since 2016. The number of deaths is high from 2014 to 2021 year. The survey shows that the number of elephant deaths due to electrocution has increased in 2014(07) 2015(n-7), 2016(n-08), 2020(n-08) compared to 2019 (n-01). Recently, this number of deaths has decreased with 2024 (n-2). A gradual increase in cases is noticeable from 2014 onwards, indicating rising risks in the study area. The number of elephant mortalities is dying due to lack of awareness among people and maintenance-monitoring by power supply division. Before 2010, this accident was very low. The trend of electrocution elephant death is becoming inclined with maintaining the human causalities and crop damages. When an elephant consistently harms a crop, the locals may intentionally kill it using a gun, poison, or an electric power line. The giant animals come out from the forest only when there is a shortage of food and shelter in the forested land. Since human construct and modified crop fields in the elephant habitat or corridors for their own needs of housing and food, getting effected. From the field survey, the July to August months is mainly the time of rainy crop harvest and during this time there is a shortage of food in the forest. So, elephants leave the forest and come out of the corridors and near the crop fields for food. The survey shows that electrocution occurrence increases in rainy period (July-August, n-9) and low in December (n = 01), January (n = 01), February (n = 01) post monsoon month (fig-5). Time is another important for large mammal electrocution (sagging power lines and illegal electric fences) deaths. Forest animals prefer to remain hidden from humans. From the ground survey, the local stakeholders said that Elephants came out in search of food at late night and early morning in the crop field adjacent to the corridor and fringe forest village. They are electrocuted when they contact with illegal power fencing and low power sagging lines. Therefore, the time of elephant electrocution is mostly between 1am to 6am (n = 47) (fig-5). This occurrence does not occur at any other time of the day. All the incidents happened such specific time with particular environmental conditions. The survey shows that most of the incident occurred in between 4am-5am (n = 19) and zero between in day, afternoon, early to late evening. The 5am-6am (n = 11) time also important for this incident. Although, some incidents happened at 1am-4am (n = 17) also. The landscape with crop field and tea garden areas has many illegal electric fencing areas which are fenced by them (owners) illegally installed of own choice to protect crop and property protection. The mean (x̄) time of all the surveyed incidents is- 4.17am. Spatial pattern of elephant mortalities by electrocution The Northern Districts Landscape (NDL) of West Bengal is home to massive forest cover and abundant wildlife, including elephants. The region has witnessed significant elephant deaths caused by poaching, train accidents, and electrocution, posing a serious threat to the elephant population. The electrocution of elephants has been a crucial issue over the past years in the study area. The distribution and intensity of these mortalities vary depending on several factors. The mortality incident point areas support the kernel density function. These points may be represented as a continuous function to result in an effective and correct image of the incidence distribution. The continuity is detected by kernel density calculations, which alternatives each point with a three-dimensional moving function. The elephant's moralities point is identified as a principal parameter to be defined in the point pattern. All the Risk point is considered as the starting point for defining intensity. Thus, based on the assigned location point (risk), the entire NDL is prepared with different zones of risk (fig-6). The Kernel Density (KD) risk map further subdivided the study area into five zones, called very high, high, Moderate, low, and very low density. The final result of the geo-spatial distribution of density zones mainly covered along the foothills of the Himalayas under NDL region. The very high density zone (KD value- > 0.026) are found long the areas of Kiranchandra Tea garden(n = 2)-Baluabari-Naya busty-Barovita-Marionbari Tea Garden-Sismulbari Tea garden- Tukra-kolabari(n = 2) and Madanjote Tea Garden of Darjeeling district and Dhumsigara village-Sealdoba-Chiravija of Targhera area, adjacent to Apalchand forest, khayerkata village-dudumari busty- keranipara village- mongolkata rava basti-upper kolabari of moraghat forest fringe in Jalpaiguri district, Debi Simul Village- Ramjhora Tea garden- Dalmore Tea garden of Rethi and Dalgaon forest, Dhumchi forest(Gopalpur Tea Garden)- Tulsipara Tea Garden- Islamabad- East deagaon village- Paschim kheyerbari- Jaldapara North Range of Jaldapara forest area in Alipurduar district has reported very high density (fig-6). High elephant death density zone (0.012 to 0.017) due to electrocution are found in specific locations such as Maharaj ghat Village- Gazoldoba (n = 2)-Sundari Busty(n = 2)-Limbu Busty(n = 2)–Turibar(n = 2)-dudumari, Binnaguri Army Cantonment- Nepania Khas Busty of Binnaguri in Jalpaiguri district, Dashghera village-Paschim Salkumar-Jaogaon-Beeach Tea Garden of Jaldapara forest area, Purba Satali- Khokla Busty- Bhutri Forest(n = 2) of Buxa Reserve Forest (West), Kartika Tea Garden-Shiltong Forest Busty of Buxa Reserve Forest (East) in Alipurduar district. Moderate death density (0.007 to 0.012) are observed singijhora (toribari)- solodanga village- bamandanga village- chengmari tea garden, bhandarkura village- garakhuta village of moraghat forest fringe in Jalpaiguri district-North Mendabari (n = 2) of Jaldapara forest area, Panbari Village- Bijaypur busty of Buxa Reserve Forest (West), Hatipota village-Choto Chokirbas village- Morakhata village of Buxa Reserve Forest (East) in Alipurduar district. The low density (0.002 to 0.007) is reported from Pattibur near Neora river in Jalpaiguri district and Panjhora village of Buxa Reserve Forest (West) in Alipurduar district. Very low zones (< 0.002) covered outside the low-density zones, where no such incident has occurred since 2010. The KD value will be larger in areas that are adjacent to the incident sites and lower in areas that are discrete in character; high values indicate a high density of elephant mortality, while low values indicate a low density. In the majority of situations, farmers make use of electric fences to safeguard their property and crops. They are closer to these dangers since they frequently travel close to populated areas in seek of food and water. The specified areas of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts reported high elephant deaths with moderate to very low habitat suitability (Ghosh et al., 2024 ). It is seen that most of the elephant mortalities have happened in moderate to very low habitat suitability zones. The distribution pattern, although it might be changed in another region due to several responsible factors. Discussion This work reveals important insights into spatial analysis of elephant mortalities by electrocution by highlighting the temporal and regional patterns for future conservation and recommendations brought on by interactions with big animals. The study especially examines elephants in our analysis, highlighting their causes of mortalities by electrocution and trends within the NDL region. According to our findings, the biggest threat to elephant conservation, especially for endangered species in the study area. Understanding such conflict patterns would be enhanced by evaluating agricultural practices or methods, the acreage used to grow elephant-preferred crops, human effects on the landscape, field observations, and the effectiveness of each physical barrier. Still, collecting information at the landscape level takes a lot of time and resources; thus, analysing data from existing sources will aid in creating baselines that will support management to protect and conserve this species. With it, the study first looks into the spatial pattern of elephant mortalities by kernel density (KD) map zone using primary observation, and then uses it in ArcGIS for the next level interpretation. The spatial conflict hotspot map can also be a proxy indicator for further research of the spatial distribution of elephants. The high density is recorded in the Bagdogra Forest area in Darjeeling district, Mahananda wildlife Sanctuary (MNWLS) to Apalchand forest, Binnaguri area in Jalpaiguri district and Madarihat-Jaldapara National Park (JNP) area of Alipurduar district (except Cooch Behar district). .Historically, these areas are very high risk for human-elephant conflict (HEC). Many non-existent areas are now facing such incidents. This area is primarily a seasonal and migratory route for elephants. These call for serious attention to address to strengthen elephant conservation and human awareness in such areas of NDL. Relation between land use and elephant mortality by electrocution The incident events are higher close to the periphery of the forested areas in high-density zones. The moderate to low and very low-density zones have a moderate to low risk for HEC as well as the killing of elephants. The high-density areas are more lethal killing of elephants in the study region. In moderate density areas covered with numerous tea gardens with tea colonies are high. The tea garden areas are acting as a passage for elephants for their movement in the study area. Based on a field study, occasionally this place is one of the important areas for the electrocution death of elephants. Although, except for the tea garden areas, other cases happened mostly in cropland areas (n = 28). People from the forest fringe and forest revenue villagers uniformly used fencing causes sudden death while they moving. They continuously raid crops and deliberately kill them using power line fencing. The reason already mentioned that most of the cases have observed the farmer or marginal farming labourer using it for their property protection without even relevant knowledge about prior species movement and presence in nearby forest areas. The communities that are involved in lethal incidents are very marginal labourers or farmers in nature. So, Elephants are now facing a serious threat from the supply of power to isolated communities and the resulting rise in electrocution mortality of elephants. Electrocution nature from defined corridors Another highlight of the study is the distance from the corridor and the nearest forest boundary in electrocution incidents (fig-7). As no such earlier work has been done to analyze such mortality patterns in NDL of West Bengal. A (Sukumar,2003) research study has found that the average distributional ranges of North Bengali elephant herds were 300 km for males and 580 km for females, indicating a lack of resources. First, the Elephant Corridor (EC) is important as a seasonal and occasional movement of elephants from one patch of forest to another place. Most of the elephant corridors are laid over by moderate habitat suitability with major obstructions (Ghosh et al., 2024 ). The demarcated corridor (16) area is overexposed and encroached by human activities. This place may risk to the people in the area on a day-by-day basis. Most elephant deaths by human activities and human casualties by elephant are observed in the moderately suitable zone among other zones (Ghosh et al., 2024 ). Both lethal and non-lethal activities are found near the corridor and forest boundary area. Government-owned lands, within which many of the lands under elephant home range, and marginal farmers are illegally cropped, and electric fences are used to protect the agricultural fields and their settlements in the study area. When the elephant comes into contact with it, it becomes a risk for the species. Based on the survey, during nighttime is most incidents happen during (3am to 5am). Nighttime is the most suitable time as rainy season is favourable to reach cropland for elephants for nutritious and palatable crops. Paddy, maize, and betelnut is most attracted due to their dietary habit in the study area. They consume during nighttime when they roam from one place to another. Secondly, the Intensity of HEC was found close to forest boundary (FB) and protected Area (PA) boundaries. The results of Gurung et al. ( 2008 ), who observed a similar pattern in Chitwan National Park, where the majority of conflict instances occurred within 1 km of the forest boundary, are consistent with this. A similar outcome was also noted by Bhatta and Joshi (2020) from Shuklaphanta National Park. Agriculture, which depends on nearby natural resources, is the main source of income for communities living close to forest regions. This study is relevant to analysis that distance from their habitat to incident places to further observe future prediction about this type of death. The y-axis showing the number of incidents and x-axis represents the distance from the elephant corridor in meters (fig-7). The trend shows a general decline in incidents while the distance increases. However, the pattern is non-linear, with fluctuations in the middle ranges. The highest number of incidents (n = 7 incidents) is recorded within 0-1000m from the corridor. There is a noticeable dip in incidents at 1001-2000m, followed by an increase at 2001-3000m (13 incidents). After this, the incidents gradually decline, reaching their lowest at 6001-7000m. Interestingly, incidents increase again after 8001-9000m, suggesting another hotspot farther from the corridor. Also, y-axis represents the number of incidents. The x-axis represents the distance from the forest boundary in meters. This graph follows a more consistent declining trend compared to the first graph. The highest number of incidents (~ 30 incidents) occurs within 0-1000m from the forest boundary. As the distance increases, incidents gradually decrease, reaching the lowest (~ 2 incidents) at 3001-4000m. However, after 4001-5000m, there is a slight increase in incidents, though it remains relatively low. Proximity to the corridor and forest boundary influences the number of incidents. More incidents occur closer to the corridor and forest boundary, likely due to the higher presence of wildlife activity in these areas. The fluctuating pattern in the left graph suggests that certain areas further from the corridor still experience incidents, possibly due to human settlements or specific movement patterns of wildlife. The more linear decline in the right graph suggests that distance from the forest boundary has a stronger influence on reducing incidents. So, close to the EC and FB is higher the Elephants death in the study area. Boundary to 3000m (3km) is very risk for electrocution incident in bear future. Electrocution in different forest and non-forest areas The study also focuses to identify that 60 incidents were observed in outside forest area while 14 incidents were in inside forest area. Also, Inside the Protected Area (PA) 03 and Outside PA were 58 incidents. The inside of the forest and protected area is non-human area and safe and free movement for them. But sometimes incident happened due to Low hanging electricity weirs. In the study area, this situation is same where the electricity weirs is supposed to get very down and when elephant passes through the sites, their body or trunk touches and suddenly died at the spot. This weir actually running from one place to another for supply electricity to the different departmental (420kv) offices, houses and some areas is covered with main power supply (11000kv). Many overhead weirs (Low hanging electricity weirs) pass with tea garden, roads, forest patches under elephant crossing zones. The rainy season is most dangerous for such type inside death and more outside the forest area cases. Fig-7 The diagram showing the relationship between the number of incidents with the distance from the corridor (a) and the distance from the forest boundary (b) in metres. In the study area, many elephants have died from natural causes and by HEC. The HEC by effective factors varies from one place to another, including the behaviour of people in the 12000 sq km region. HEC-affected areas are more vulnerable, and People are becoming aggrieved at such a situation and trying to collectively install fencing by illegal methods. Local communities collectively support the usage of fences to deter elephant forays, negative interactions with elephants, and subsequent losses. However, this requires further study. The farmers are installing illegal electric fences around their croplands to safeguard their crops at the expense of elephant lives, even though they were aware that there was a chance of elephant activity at the time. More lethal electric fences were discovered in our analysis than non-lethal ones, and more of the lethal fences were intentionally constructed inside notified forests and villages. This is due to the deadly fence's affordable price tag, simplicity of maintenance, and use of readily accessible materials like bamboo poles, wires, and rubber or plastic bottles (insulators) with electroplating galvanized iron wire rope (wire diameter 1.5 mm). The majority of nonlethal fences (accidentally) were longer, permanently erected, and located outside and near forest boundaries. With it, elephant deaths are happened by also happen accidentally (non-intentionally), due to LHW in the areas where elephant corridors exist, forest fringe villages, power lines, or riverine transmission power line areas. In the majority of northern areas, deadly barriers were put up during the paddy planting and harvesting season, which runs from June to December. Elephants prefer paddy because it is more palatable, highly nutritious, and rich in salt (Sukumar, 1990 ). Elephants in Sri Lanka are known to show up at rice fields as soon as the harvest season begins (Santiapillai & Read, 2010 ). However, since wild boar damage to crop fields is a significant problem in the research region, in addition to elephants, the situation of electrocution outside of the typical elephant pathways can be handled independently. Interestingly, several incidents is higher near EC and FB than far distance from it. So, these high-density areas are at high risk for elephant death. We predict these areas shall be maintenance and manages all the supportive measures to protect this giant species in the study area without any alarming effect. We can conclude that people may take drastic actions if they fear losing their crops or having their property damaged. The study region is positive attitude between HEC and Elephant Electrocution. HEC areas are naturally prone to elephant electrocution deaths. The region has seen considerable increases in conflict in day-to-day life over the years. The study identified (Dash et al, 2024) that many electrocution incident areas have faced conflict in the last 10 years. In the field, it is observed that more crops are cultivated, representing a negative attitude towards elephants. Although many have a favourable opinion of forest officials, most have an unfavourable opinion about elephants. A common strategy to lessen negative encounters between people and animals is to install electrified fences (Evans & Adams, 2016 ). Nonetheless, there are instances where people alter them to murder people from the species that harm crops. Conclusion This study highlights the critical issue of elephant electrocution in NDL, West Bengal, emphasizing mortality by electrocution patterns with a predictive hotspot map for future analysis and management using primary and secondary observations. The first finding is that 97% of the incidents happened overnight or early morning, while people are either slipping or ready to sleep out of their beds in the study region. Furthermore, most of the incidents observed were lethal incidents by protected crops and houses in the region. 85% of incidents happened outside of the forest and protected area, while 15% of cases happened inside the forest area due to non-lethal and LHW. Since 2010, we have surveyed all the incident places and communicated particular crop field household person and the surrounding people. After 2014, the chances of such incidents happening regularly and after 2023 all these decrease due to formed the Anti-electrocution cell over the region. In about five places, such committees have been placed with the representatives from various stakeholders like WBSEDCL (power supply authority), Tea gardens, Army, Gram Panchayat, Police, Non-governmental organization (NGOs), JFMC members etc., under the chair of Assistant Divisional Forest Officials (ADFO)sector. In the study area of West Bengal, the results of this research may help to address societal concerns about wildlife. Using a risk zone map, planners and management authorities can find a scientific way to maintain and monitor regularly the movement of elephants or corridors. According to the study, nighttime elephant mortalities were high. Joint night patrolling may restrict regular movement in high-risk areas of cropland. The awareness needs to be built up is important through the effective measures of relevant officials, Gram Panchayat representatives, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including JFMC (Joint Forest Management committee) members, to residents and farmers in very high to high-risk zones for further incidents. Therefore, to meet the dynamic character of such events, the study suggests improving the sharing of knowledge about the importance of elephants in nature and the environment among the farmers and villagers. The many forest divisions of the study area have now started anti-electrocution cell joint inspection in the field to identify sagging lines, illicit power connections, and unscientific power lines in the particular jurisdiction by deputing all the joined departments in non-forest and forested areas. Long-term solutions must focus on habitat improvement-conservation, cultivate non-elephant-friendly agriculture practices in the past incident events, and strengthen community engagement to enhance the coexistence between humans and elephants in the study area. Such methods, either single or together, can be applied depending on the local environment and would help to reduce illegal elephant mortality cases. Also, we support a more harmonious relationship between humans and wildlife by mitigating electrocution mortality incidents. Declarations All authors have read, understood, and have complied as applicable with the statement on “Ethical responsibilities of Authors Competing interests The author has no conflict of interest Funding The author has not used any funding Author Contribution Saumyajit Ghosh, Mrinmay Mandal have developed the concept, data curation, formal analysis, and discussion. Vikash Vijayaprakash and Devesh Pandey reviewed the manuscript and gave significant comments. Shasanka Kumar Gayen reviewed and edited the manuscript. Acknowledgement The team is grateful to the forest authorities for allowing this investigation to be conducted. The West Bengal government's Forest and Wildlife Department assists in the research work. In this paper, the researchers provide their thoughts and conclusions. We thank the frontline forest staff of several ranges under different Forest and Wildlife Divisions who helped to take the survey team members for observation and communication about the incidents. Regarding the establishment of its promotion of any specific good or service, or the legal standing of any country, territory, city, or region under its authority, the task has been expressed. We appreciate your cooperation throughout this study, CCF Wildlife North & Field Director -Buxa Tiger Reserve, DFO-ADFO Kurseong, Darjeeling, Gorumara, Baikaanthpur, Jaldapara, and DFD Buxa Tiger Reserve East and West. We are also grateful to the Sarpanch, Mukhias, Pradhans, frontline workers, and all the villages that assisted with the fieldwork. Data Availability Statement The datasets generated or analysed during the current study are available at the request of the corresponding author. References All India Synchronized Elephant Population Estimation. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Report. 2017. Bhatta, M., and R. Joshi. (2020). “Analysis of Human–Wildlife Conflict in Buffer Zone Area: A Case Study of Shuklaphanta National Park, Nepal.” Grassroots Journal of Natural Resources 3,(3): 28–45. Bithell, J.F. (1990). An application of density estimation to geographical epidemiology. Statistics in Medicine (9): 691–701. Boba, R. (2005). 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Sundar, K.S.G. & Choudhury, B.C. (2005). Mortality of Sarus Cranes (Grus Antigone) Due To Electricity Wires In Uttar Pradesh, India. Environmental Conservation, 32, 260–269 Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6621321","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":456813600,"identity":"40613baa-4443-4406-9513-965609542d19","order_by":0,"name":"Saumyajit 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Bengal.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6621321/v1/d29e4df6e982e18d5a537b55.jpeg"},{"id":82934197,"identity":"17cdb6c1-2c3d-42fb-a1b0-6e81d59490d8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-17 02:42:47","extension":"jpeg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":474124,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThe map showing the distribution of protected and forest area with the exact location of elephant mortalities by electrocution in the NDL region.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage2.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6621321/v1/69ee5e00719219781f7f1762.jpeg"},{"id":82933990,"identity":"dbfaa317-2594-4572-8307-dc1543a34812","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-17 02:34:47","extension":"jpeg","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":500302,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThe photograph showing visited incident places with forest officials and forest staff, a: visited Marionbari tea garden with beat officer of Bamanpokhri range under KFD, b: visited Keranipara village and talked with local villagers about the incident of Binnaguri Wildlife Division range under GNP, c: visited Panjhora village with forest guard of Chalsa range under JFD, d: visited purba satali area with forest guard of Hamiltonganj range under BTR (west) in 6\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e february, 2025, e: visited Jayanti tea garden area and communicated with local forest guard of Hatipota range under BTR (East), f: visited Simulbari tea garden with beat officer of Bamanpokhri range under KFD for documented elephant mortality event by electrocution(Source-Author).\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage3.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6621321/v1/b46ecf19cfb268b0397158ce.jpeg"},{"id":82933988,"identity":"f71b68f6-c959-4bef-a076-a2d430375ba7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-17 02:34:47","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":122533,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThe diagram showing the number of elephant mortalities against observed causes in the NDL region.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6621321/v1/c2f8356a5818f35577c1fbb3.png"},{"id":82933994,"identity":"1b3d9e6a-8eb9-4ab0-9bff-919deef7615a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-17 02:34:47","extension":"png","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":122979,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThe diagram showing the temporal pattern of elephant mortalities due to electrocution, a: showing the year-wise distribution of incidents; b: Month-wise distribution of incidents; c: Time-wise distribution of incidents from 2010 to 2024\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6621321/v1/c44d562a3cd46ea015fa8b27.png"},{"id":82934003,"identity":"45c253a5-94d8-46b3-9b62-8a2f24f02168","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-17 02:34:47","extension":"jpeg","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":723034,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSpatial distribution of elephant mortalities map using kernal density technique with defined elephant corridors by Project Elephant, MoEF \u0026amp; CC, Govt. of India, 5:A-D: Photographs illustrate actual cases of elephant death events by humans in the NDL region- A: One sub-adult tusker died (2023) in Mandal para under Satali village in the Kalchini block in the Alipurduar subdivision of the Alipurduar district, B: One tusker died (2023) in Uttar Mendabari area near Chilapata forest in the Kalchini block in the Alipurduar subdivision of the Alipurduar district, C: One 25-year-old male elephant died (2020) in Bamandanga tea estate area near diana forest in the Nagrakata block in the Nagrakata subdivision of the Jalpaiguri district, D: A male adult elephant was slain (2016) in the Dalgaon forest area in Falakata block of the Alipurduar district in the state of West Bengal, India\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage6.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6621321/v1/f8f620334115342e30191a77.jpeg"},{"id":82934343,"identity":"d8a5501a-6070-4e5e-8ef8-b600a5e2435b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-17 02:50:47","extension":"jpeg","order_by":7,"title":"Figure 7","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":83993,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThe diagram showing the relationship between the number of incidents with the distance from the corridor (a) and the distance from the forest boundary (b) in metres.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage7.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6621321/v1/f1be04dd3e75fd673f2002d1.jpeg"},{"id":91889873,"identity":"6ba5b0fe-6ace-4791-9ee3-76a26f8eb1b8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-22 16:03:02","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":3064327,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6621321/v1/eee2f311-58ba-4b36-adfd-a188e22754e5.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Geospatial Analysis of Elephant Mortalities by Electrocution from Northern Districts Landscape of West Bengal, India","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe Asian elephant (\u003cem\u003eElephas maximus\u003c/em\u003e) is classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List (Choudhury et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e) and is also included in Appendix I of CITES (CITES, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e) as well as Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The primary threats to this species include habitat destruction, fragmentation, and poaching for ivory (Sukumar, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e). Northeast India has a large population of elephants, with an estimated 10,139 individuals, including 488 in the Northern Bengal region, as published in the All India Synchronized Elephant Population Estimation (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). The IUCN Red List now lists the Asian elephant (\u003cem\u003eElephas maximus\u003c/em\u003e), a symbol of the Indian subcontinent, as Endangered because of habitat loss, fragmentation, and threats from humans.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHuman-induced mortality is recognized as a significant factor impacting threatened species. Among the various causes, the expansion and development of power grids contribute notably to wildlife fatalities (Sundar \u0026amp; Choudhury, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e; Guil et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e). The mortality rate from electrocution is one of the most urgent issues in elephant conservation since it has become a major contributor to unnatural elephant fatalities worldwide. Conflicts between people and elephants have gotten worse as human populations rise and natural habitats decline, especially in areas where human settlements and tea garden-cropland areas cross over into elephant circulation corridors. As human populations grow and wildlife habitats shrink, interactions between humans and wildlife are becoming more frequent. When conventional deterrents such as watchtowers, loud noises, and firecrackers prove ineffective, fencing is often employed as a barrier. Both electrified and non-electrified fences are commonly used to restrict the movement of large herbivores (Lindsey et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e) and to protect settlements, agricultural fields, and livestock from foraging animals (Hayward \u0026amp; Kerley, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe electrocution elephant deaths are becoming rampant across many other states in India. According to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF and CC), a record 1,160 elephants were killed in the nation for non-natural reasons in the ten years ending in December 2020. The 115 elephants were killed for human reasons in 2018\u0026ndash;19, and 105 in 2017\u0026ndash;18 by electrocution. Over 700 elephants were killed by electrocution (2009- 31st December 2020). India lost 82 elephants in 2021\u0026ndash;2022, 57 of whom perished from electrocution, among other unnatural causes. A study was published by Palei et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e) in Odisha, who reported 91 electrocution incidents between 2001 and 2012, killing 118 individual elephants, with an incidence of 85.7% that coincided with Kharif crop seasons (Dash et al., 2024). Odisha and Karnataka each lost 133 elephants to electrocution during that time. There were 13 elephants killed by electrocution in Odisha, seven in Karnataka, six in Kerala, five in Tamil Nadu, four in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, and two in each of Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal in 2022. Additionally, the frequency of elephant fatalities from unnatural causes has decreased on a nationwide basis. In the study area, there were 11 electrocution elephant deaths in Gorumara National Park (GNP) to total of 27 elephant deaths since 2014; 11 deaths to total of 30 elephant deaths since 2006 in Baikunthapur Forest Division (BFD); and 10 deaths, for a total of 30 since 2006 in Kurseong Forest Division (KFD). In addition, 13 electrocution elephant deaths of a total of 30 elephant deaths since 2006 in the Jalpaiguri Forest Division (JFD) have happened (based on an unpublished report from the forest department).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eElectrified fences are generally installed to minimize conflicts between humans and wildlife (Evans \u0026amp; Adams, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). However, in some instances, these fences are illegally modified to kill animals perceived as threats (Menon et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1997\u003c/span\u003e). Electrocution-related elephant fatalities have become increasingly common, particularly during the cropping season. These incidents not only threaten elephant populations but also result in human casualties, exacerbating the conflict between communities and wildlife. Elephant electrocutions have, however, alarmingly increased in this area, mostly as a result of unauthorized electric fencing and unintentional contact with high-voltage power lines. Farmers sometimes electrify their fences without permission in an attempt to defend their crops against elephant invasions, which can have deadly results. The danger of electrocution is significantly increased by exposed or badly maintained electrical transmission cables. Intentional electrocution refers to cases where power lines were deliberately used to kill elephants, either for crop protection, house protection or poaching. This method involves attaching a wire, supported by an insulated rod or dry bamboo cane, to a high-tension power line that runs through an elephant\u0026rsquo;s known movement corridor. These wires are positioned at the approximate chest height of an elephant, often resulting in instant death. India accounts for many elephant mortalities due to Train Accidents, Electrocution, Poaching and Poisoning in last few years. Of the 82 elephants that died in 2021\u0026ndash;2022 for unnatural causes included 57 perished from electrocution. This number hardly changed in 2022\u0026ndash;2023 and 2023\u0026ndash;2024 (unpublished data, MOEF). In 2022\u0026ndash;2023 and 2023\u0026ndash;2024, 94 and 100 elephants died in India, respectively.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn India, unauthorized electric fences are frequently used to prevent crop damage by Asian elephants. Overhead electric power lines have been identified as a contributing factor to the decline of the Asian elephant (\u003cem\u003eElephas maximus\u003c/em\u003e) (Gubbi, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e); however, limited research in India has specifically addressed this issue. Very little research work has been done and now this is a burning problem about the elephant conservation in many states of India as well as in West Bengal. Despite their ecological significance, elephants in North Bengal face growing threats due to habitat degradation and human encroachment (Palei et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Naha et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). With dwindling natural forage, elephants frequently raid agricultural fields in search of food, leading to substantial crop losses, particularly of rice, maize, and wheat. This results in heightened conflict, often leading to retaliatory actions by farmers. A critical consequence of this conflict is electrocution, as elephants meet low-hanging or illegally electrified fencing around farmlands. Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive approach that integrates ecological conservation, sustainable land-use planning, and community-based conflict mitigation strategies. Despite the increasing number of elephant fatalities due to electrocution, systematic studies on electrical mortality patterns in the Northern Districts Landscape (NDL) of West Bengal remain limited. Understanding the spatial and temporal distribution of these incidents is essential for devising effective mitigation strategies. The present study aims to assess the extent of electrocution-related elephant mortality in the region, identify high-risk zones, and evaluate the underlying factors contributing to these deaths with forested areas spanning about 3000 km\u0026sup2;. By analysing mortality patterns, this research seeks to provide insights into conflict mitigation measures and contribute to the conservation efforts for this keystone species.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Materials and Methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eStudy area:\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe NDL of West Bengal, encompassing the districts of Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, and Kalimpong, is a prominent hotspot for Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC). Spanning approximately 12,700 km\u0026sup2;, this ecologically rich region falls within the biogeographic zones of the Himalayas and the Gangetic Plains (Rodger et al., 2000). It is widely known as the Dooars, characterized by extensive alluvial floodplains intersected by numerous rivers originating from the Himalayan glaciers and flowing into the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta. The region is dominated by moist deciduous forests, with significant teak (\u003cem\u003eTectona grandis\u003c/em\u003e) and Sal (\u003cem\u003eShorea robusta\u003c/em\u003e) cover, providing essential habitats for elephants and other wildlife. The climate is tropical, with an average annual rainfall of approximately 3,100 mm and temperature variations ranging from below 10\u0026deg;C in winter to above 35\u0026deg;C in summer. Several major rivers, including the Mechi, Teesta, Jaldhaka, Torsa, Rydak, and Sankosh, traverse this landscape in a west-east direction, shaping its ecological productivity. However, these rivers are highly dynamic, prone to frequent flooding and course alterations, creating vast floodplains that influence both human settlements and wildlife habitats. Elephants are migrating from the Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR) forest in the east to the Mechi River in the west of the Kolabari-Bagdogra Forest for seasonal movement.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe region is home to several protected and reserve areas, like as Jaldapara National Park (JNP), Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR), Gorumara National Park (GNP), and Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary (CWLS). These forests serve as critical habitats for elephants and host several transboundary elephant corridors that connect fragmented forest patches across India, Bhutan, and Nepal (fig-1). These corridors play a vital role in maintaining genetic diversity and ecological balance. However, rapid deforestation and expanding infrastructure have increasingly fragmented these habitats, leading to restricted elephant movement and rising incidents of HEC (Ghosh et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). In 2011, the entire population of this area was 8,489,354 with a density of 725 people per km\u0026sup2;, the bulk of whom (80%) resided in rural areas. The indigenous communities residing in the region, including the Totos, Rava, Mech, and Bhutia, have coexisted with elephants for generations. Additionally, central Indian tribes such as the Santhal, Oraon, Bhumij, and Munda were introduced to the area during the colonial period to work in tea plantations. These communities possess traditional ecological knowledge that contributes to conflict mitigation and conservation efforts.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSatellite Image acquisition, processing, and analysis\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe objectives of this study were accomplished by utilizing a range of geographic information. The main dataset utilized was a Landsat-9 satellite picture obtained from the United States Geological Survey\u0026apos;s (USGS) Earth Explorer open platform (\u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e) on December 14, 2024. The USGS Earth Explorer provided dry season and cloud-free Landsat images with a 15m spatial resolution. To create a combined satellite picture, the area needs three row-path satellite photos taken during the same period. The map projected to UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) and World Geodetic System (WGS) 1984 is used. From the 2024 images, seven LULC subclasses were found: agriculture, fallow land, river, sand bar, settlement, vegetation, and tea garden (fig-1). The Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLC) technique was used to classify the spectral data into a thematic map. This technique is required for supervised classification because it allocates information elements to classes based on the strongest likelihood derived from training data in a statistically reliable way, providing accurate and dependable results. Settlements of humans and agricultural fields with tea gardens make up the majority of the Northern district region. Finding the elements influencing elephant death required the use of these classes. For the production of land use and land cover (LULC) for December 4, 2024, this figure was utilized. The research region was divided into seven LULC classes using supervised classification techniques, following the approaches by Bouaziz et al. (2017) and Pal and Mather (2004, 2005). Based on the absolute area information for the LULC classes and the geographical distribution of the study regions, about 490 points were chosen for each class. Ground reality validation was used to confirm the categorization accuracy, evaluating both the producer\u0026apos;s and user\u0026apos;s accuracy. When the classification\u0026apos;s accuracy exceeded 81% according to the Kappa coefficient (1), it was deemed suitable for analysis. (Smits and others, 1999)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Equ1\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equ1\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e$$\\:K=\\frac{N\\sum\\:_{k=1}^{q}\\:{n}_{\\text{k}\\text{k}-}\\sum\\:_{k=1}^{q}\\:\\left({G}_{k}{C}_{k}\\right)}{{N}^{2}-\\sum\\:_{k=1}^{q}\\:\\left({G}_{k}{C}_{k}\\right)}$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"EquationNumber\"\u003e1\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhere the class number is k(small), the Kappa coefficient is K, the number of classified data to reference data is N, the values associated with class k are n\u003csub\u003ekk\u003c/sub\u003e, the total number of predicted pixels associated with class k is Ck, and the total number of truth values associated with class k is Gk.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eResearchers can measure, evaluate, and comprehend spatial patterns and correlations within the study region because to this divide, which makes systematic and accurate spatial analysis possible. The corresponding chosen class levels are shown, and the total area for land use and land cover is 12,000 km\u0026sup2;.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eMethods of data collection from the incident place\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBefore starting the field survey, we obtained approval from the relevant authority using application Memo No. 53/WL-4R11 (PF-XV)/2021. Our first step involved collecting and consulting with authorities about elephant mortalities by electric fencing areas in the region to identify potential elephant deaths and the distance from the forest and protected areas. We have collected data for the region of NDL last 15 years (2010\u0026ndash;2025) from Hill Circle, Wildlife North Circle, BTR, and Northern Circle Forest division of the West Bengal Government.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDuring the field investigation conducted from 2022 to 2025 (January), covered target locations (n-63) were covered based on elephant mortalities by electrocution. Elephant mortalities occurred throughout the Terai areas of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Dooars area of Alipurduar (fig-1 and 2). The field visit started with communicating with forest officials, local people, and forest guides, and documenting each of the incidents (fig-3). After visiting every location, the record of those incidents was done by GPS Garmin (model: GPSMAP\u0026reg;64ST, accuracy\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;10m) and placed over Google Earth Pro and ArcGIS 10.8. The UTM 45N reference system (WGS, 1984 datum) was used to record presence locations using GPS. The forest officials also verified those points of elephant mortalities in their jurisdiction. The collected points were drawn with the help of the ArcGIS 10.8 software digitisation tool and superimposed upon the LULC and forest map to depict the environment.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003ePrimary data tabulation for GIS analysis\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter collecting location information, we used ArcGIS 10.8 for density mapping. The risk map is created using 63 incident locations within the study area. The density tool is used within the boundaries of the Northern Bengal districts. The kernel density is applied ultimately for visualizing the research work. The other information, such as year, month, and time, was noted during the visit to the places. The elephant corridor demarcated is demarcated by Project Elephant, MoEF \u0026amp; CC, Govt. of India. We have created such corridors using the line tool and created particular lengths and referenced them by WGS, 1984 datum level. The corridor was further verified by the forest division officials for better reference. The river line and corridor are superimposed over the prepared LULC map with electrocution elephant death locations (fig-2). The forest and protected area are collected from the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun. Then, we digitize both areas and overlay the map over the GIS platform. The collected information from the surveyed field has been arranged in one sheet of Microsoft Excel (2021). All this information was included using total events. The total events (63) were tabulated by particular serial number, and then the required information was put with the following serial number. This tabulated information is further classified into several categories to show temporal patterns of mortalities by electrocution (year, month, and time\u003cstrong\u003e)\u003c/strong\u003e using Origin (2025) software. The distance from the corridor and the distance from the forest boundary to the collected points of electrocution deaths are calculated using the distance measurement tool in ArcGIS and tabulated in particular locations by following the serial number. The Origin software helped further to draw the curves for a better understanding of the interrelationship between two spatial elements.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eElectrocution conflict risk hotspot by Kernal Density Estimation Model\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eKernel density estimation (KDE) is a non-parametric technique that estimates the densities of certain characteristics at particular locations by using local information defined by windows, also known as kernels. In addition to its applications in criminology (Chainey and Ratcliffe, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e; Boba, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e), ecology (Brunsdon, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1995\u003c/span\u003e), public health, and epidemiology (e.g., Kelsall and Diggle, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1995\u003c/span\u003e; Gatrell et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1996\u003c/span\u003e; Rushton and Rushton et al., 1996; Sabel et al. \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e; Han et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e), and other fields, KDE is a significant technique for mapping spatial patterns of point events. Now it is widely used in like Social and Economic Studies, Geospatial Analysis and Research, Agricultural Science and Public Health, Statistical Computation, Physics and Astronomy, Geography, Ecology, etc. Here, the KDE is applied to assess the Electrocution conflict risk in NDL region. The representation of KDE over a two-dimensional space is as follows (derived from Silverman, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1986\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Equ2\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equ2\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e$$\\:\\widehat{f}(x,y)=\\frac{1}{n{h}^{2}}\\sum\\:_{i=1}^{n}\\:K\\left(\\frac{{d}_{i,(x,y)}}{h}\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"EquationNumber\"\u003e2\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ewhere di,(x,y) is the distance between event point I and location (x, y); \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:\\widehat{f}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e (x,y) is the estimated density value at location (x, y); n is the total number of event points under consideration (e.g., disease cases); h is a measure of the window width and is known as kernel bandwidth (e.g., for a circular kernel it is the radius of the circle); and K is a density function that describes how the contribution of point I varies as a function of di,(x,y).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe point locations of elephant mortalities, the distributed locations is in at risk, over which the importance of a mortality case to a given location is determined only by the geographic distance between the points. Using Eq.\u0026nbsp;(\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e), the performance of KDE is prepared by the Density tool in ArcGIS 10.8 software. Using the point location, the final map is prepared by observing the fitted grid resolution and bandwidth resolution of KDE.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eHere, we describe only after analyzing the data set on how we find several factors contribute to elephant deaths due to electric fences and live wires:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCauses of Elephant Mortalities by Electrocution (EME)\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLow-hanging electric wire\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026ndash;Many electric fences are illegally installed and poorly regulated, delivering lethal shocks instead of just deterring elephants. It is a common cause of elephant mortalities in the Northern area. Many Electric Fences are not installed at suitable and safe heights. Power wires that sag when electrical poles or pylons are placed far apart are the main cause of this, as illegal tapping of high- and low-tension wires (Rangarajan et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e) or the use of inverters from a direct current (DC) source (battery) to power fences erected to guard homes and crop fields. This unsafe structure delivers fatal shocks upon body and trunk contact, leading to elephant mortality. Assam, India, which is the habitat to more than 5,000 elephants, engages in such activities (MOEF, 2017). We observed a few cases (fig-4) that happened from this cause and resulted in elephant death.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUnscientific installation by power supply department\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026ndash; Poorly maintained electric fences pose a significant threat to wildlife. Electric fences installed at unsafe heights or using non-standard wiring can result in direct electrocution. The region is an important trap for fatal elephant accidents due to improper installation in and around the tea garden, tea colonies, and crop fields. Sometimes, high-voltage wires are broken or sagging at low height, and people are not aware of this wild animal movement, causing wildlife or giant animal deaths. Without regular upkeep, these fences become hazardous obstacles rather than protective barriers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLack of proper maintenance\u003c/strong\u003e \u0026ndash; In Northern Bengal, poor upkeep of electricity sockets has emerged as the prime reason for elephant electrocution. Sagging power lines, exposed live wires, and defective transformers are extreme dangers for elephants, particularly in the outskirts of forests and in corridors. Due to frequent breakage and delayed repairs, or poor inspection, elephants often come in contact with these installations and die from electrocution. The best ways to mitigate this intensifying problem include strengthening maintenance protocols, performing regular monitoring, and using insulated or underground cables or formed Anti-Electrocution Cells (AEC). The diagram (fig-4) shows the number of death cases observed in the field in the study area\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIllegal poaching by fencing\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026ndash; In other instances, the wires are used as a means of retaliation by villagers against elephants that damage crops or property. The use of such illegal methods increases the elephant mortality rate manyfold. Broken and sagging wires accidentally create snares, such that reverse electrocution occurs when elephants try to pass through. The trunk and giant body are trapped by power wires and ultimately death.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProtected assets by stakeholders\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026ndash; Farmers and villagers may use electric fences to protect their assets from elephant attack, unknowingly causing fatalities. The intentional and unintentional electrocution activities are observed around the forest village boundaries and outside the forest boundary crop field. This technique of sagging electric lines and using it as a barrier caused conflict, and ultimately, many elephant deaths happened in the last 20 years. This method of killing (intentional) involves attaching a wire to a high-tension power line that passes along a known elephant trail, along with an insulated rod or dried bamboo cane. When an elephant is bound with wires that are around chest height, the animal usually perishes instantaneously.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProtected crops by stakeholders\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProtecting crops and causing elephant death is a common issue in India. In the study area, the forest fringe people encroached the elephant habitat and living there illegally - causing HEC. When they become protect crop farms against elephant causes HEC. Expanding crop fields for human demand and unscientific destruction of forest cover land are also causing HEC. HEC is become an important issue in the study area, resulting in both human and elephant causalities occurring in different land use areas. Fencing installed in unscientifically leads to be elephant fatal. The people are protecting their crop fields by these illegally installed wires, called fences. As a result, elephants trying to enter a particular crop field at night when people are not protecting during this time, results in elephant death. So, these are all effective causes for elephant mortality by electrocution. The diagram (fig-4) illustrates that protecting crops is a significant cause of death, and farmers or landowners also use fencing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eDiurnal pattern of elephant mortalities by electrocution\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSuch type of deaths is varied yearly and seasonally (monthly). Elephants are one of the largest animals in the world. It is observed that they have died every year for conflicting nature nexus with human activities and especially by illegal power fencing. They died in every year in between 2006 and 2024 as information gathered from Government circle (fig-5). Based on the field survey, the highest number of elephant electrocution deaths occurred in 2016 and 2020, with 08 deaths each. The average number of deaths per year over the recorded period is \u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;3.32, with a maximum of 08 deaths in 2016 and 2020. This frequency of deaths has increased more since 2016. The number of deaths is high from 2014 to 2021 year. The survey shows that the number of elephant deaths due to electrocution has increased in 2014(07) 2015(n-7), 2016(n-08), 2020(n-08) compared to 2019 (n-01). Recently, this number of deaths has decreased with 2024 (n-2). A gradual increase in cases is noticeable from 2014 onwards, indicating rising risks in the study area. The number of elephant mortalities is dying due to lack of awareness among people and maintenance-monitoring by power supply division. Before 2010, this accident was very low. The trend of electrocution elephant death is becoming inclined with maintaining the human causalities and crop damages.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen an elephant consistently harms a crop, the locals may intentionally kill it using a gun, poison, or an electric power line. The giant animals come out from the forest only when there is a shortage of food and shelter in the forested land. Since human construct and modified crop fields in the elephant habitat or corridors for their own needs of housing and food, getting effected. From the field survey, the July to August months is mainly the time of rainy crop harvest and during this time there is a shortage of food in the forest. So, elephants leave the forest and come out of the corridors and near the crop fields for food. The survey shows that electrocution occurrence increases in rainy period (July-August, n-9) and low in December (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;01), January (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;01), February (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;01) post monsoon month (fig-5).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTime is another important for large mammal electrocution (sagging power lines and illegal electric fences) deaths. Forest animals prefer to remain hidden from humans. From the ground survey, the local stakeholders said that Elephants came out in search of food at late night and early morning in the crop field adjacent to the corridor and fringe forest village. They are electrocuted when they contact with illegal power fencing and low power sagging lines. Therefore, the time of elephant electrocution is mostly between 1am to 6am (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;47) (fig-5). This occurrence does not occur at any other time of the day. All the incidents happened such specific time with particular environmental conditions. The survey shows that most of the incident occurred in between 4am-5am (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;19) and zero between in day, afternoon, early to late evening. The 5am-6am (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;11) time also important for this incident. Although, some incidents happened at 1am-4am (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;17) also. The landscape with crop field and tea garden areas has many illegal electric fencing areas which are fenced by them (owners) illegally installed of own choice to protect crop and property protection. The mean (x̄) time of all the surveyed incidents is- 4.17am.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eSpatial pattern of elephant mortalities by electrocution\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe Northern Districts Landscape (NDL) of West Bengal is home to massive forest cover and abundant wildlife, including elephants. The region has witnessed significant elephant deaths caused by poaching, train accidents, and electrocution, posing a serious threat to the elephant population. The electrocution of elephants has been a crucial issue over the past years in the study area. The distribution and intensity of these mortalities vary depending on several factors. The mortality incident point areas support the kernel density function. These points may be represented as a continuous function to result in an effective and correct image of the incidence distribution. The continuity is detected by kernel density calculations, which alternatives each point with a three-dimensional moving function. The elephant\u0026apos;s moralities point is identified as a principal parameter to be defined in the point pattern. All the Risk point is considered as the starting point for defining intensity. Thus, based on the assigned location point (risk), the entire NDL is prepared with different zones of risk (fig-6). The Kernel Density (KD) risk map further subdivided the study area into five zones, called very high, high, Moderate, low, and very low density.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe final result of the geo-spatial distribution of density zones mainly covered along the foothills of the Himalayas under NDL region. The very high density zone (KD value- \u0026gt; 0.026) are found long the areas of Kiranchandra Tea garden(n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2)-Baluabari-Naya busty-Barovita-Marionbari Tea Garden-Sismulbari Tea garden- Tukra-kolabari(n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2) and Madanjote Tea Garden of Darjeeling district and Dhumsigara village-Sealdoba-Chiravija of Targhera area, adjacent to Apalchand forest, khayerkata village-dudumari busty- keranipara village- mongolkata rava basti-upper kolabari of moraghat forest fringe in Jalpaiguri district, Debi Simul Village- Ramjhora Tea garden- Dalmore Tea garden of Rethi and Dalgaon forest, Dhumchi forest(Gopalpur Tea Garden)- Tulsipara Tea Garden- Islamabad- East deagaon village- Paschim kheyerbari- Jaldapara North Range of Jaldapara forest area in Alipurduar district has reported very high density (fig-6). High elephant death density zone (0.012 to 0.017) due to electrocution are found in specific locations such as Maharaj ghat Village- Gazoldoba (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2)-Sundari Busty(n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2)-Limbu Busty(n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2)\u0026ndash;Turibar(n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2)-dudumari, Binnaguri Army Cantonment- Nepania Khas Busty of Binnaguri in Jalpaiguri district, Dashghera village-Paschim Salkumar-Jaogaon-Beeach Tea Garden of Jaldapara forest area, Purba Satali- Khokla Busty- Bhutri Forest(n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2) of Buxa Reserve Forest (West), Kartika Tea Garden-Shiltong Forest Busty of Buxa Reserve Forest (East) in Alipurduar district. Moderate death density (0.007 to 0.012) are observed singijhora (toribari)- solodanga village- bamandanga village- chengmari tea garden, bhandarkura village- garakhuta village of moraghat forest fringe in Jalpaiguri district-North Mendabari (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2) of Jaldapara forest area, Panbari Village- Bijaypur busty of Buxa Reserve Forest (West), Hatipota village-Choto Chokirbas village- Morakhata village of Buxa Reserve Forest (East) in Alipurduar district. The low density (0.002 to 0.007) is reported from Pattibur near Neora river in Jalpaiguri district and Panjhora village of Buxa Reserve Forest (West) in Alipurduar district. Very low zones (\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.002) covered outside the low-density zones, where no such incident has occurred since 2010.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe KD value will be larger in areas that are adjacent to the incident sites and lower in areas that are discrete in character; high values indicate a high density of elephant mortality, while low values indicate a low density. In the majority of situations, farmers make use of electric fences to safeguard their property and crops. They are closer to these dangers since they frequently travel close to populated areas in seek of food and water. The specified areas of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts reported high elephant deaths with moderate to very low habitat suitability (Ghosh et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). It is seen that most of the elephant mortalities have happened in moderate to very low habitat suitability zones. The distribution pattern, although it might be changed in another region due to several responsible factors.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis work reveals important insights into spatial analysis of elephant mortalities by electrocution by highlighting the temporal and regional patterns for future conservation and recommendations brought on by interactions with big animals. The study especially examines elephants in our analysis, highlighting their causes of mortalities by electrocution and trends within the NDL region. According to our findings, the biggest threat to elephant conservation, especially for endangered species in the study area. Understanding such conflict patterns would be enhanced by evaluating agricultural practices or methods, the acreage used to grow elephant-preferred crops, human effects on the landscape, field observations, and the effectiveness of each physical barrier. Still, collecting information at the landscape level takes a lot of time and resources; thus, analysing data from existing sources will aid in creating baselines that will support management to protect and conserve this species. With it, the study first looks into the spatial pattern of elephant mortalities by kernel density (KD) map zone using primary observation, and then uses it in ArcGIS for the next level interpretation. The spatial conflict hotspot map can also be a proxy indicator for further research of the spatial distribution of elephants. The high density is recorded in the Bagdogra Forest area in Darjeeling district, Mahananda wildlife Sanctuary (MNWLS) to Apalchand forest, Binnaguri area in Jalpaiguri district and Madarihat-Jaldapara National Park (JNP) area of Alipurduar district (except Cooch Behar district). .Historically, these areas are very high risk for human-elephant conflict (HEC). Many non-existent areas are now facing such incidents. This area is primarily a seasonal and migratory route for elephants. These call for serious attention to address to strengthen elephant conservation and human awareness in such areas of NDL.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eRelation between land use and elephant mortality by electrocution\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe incident events are higher close to the periphery of the forested areas in high-density zones. The moderate to low and very low-density zones have a moderate to low risk for HEC as well as the killing of elephants. The high-density areas are more lethal killing of elephants in the study region. In moderate density areas covered with numerous tea gardens with tea colonies are high. The tea garden areas are acting as a passage for elephants for their movement in the study area. Based on a field study, occasionally this place is one of the important areas for the electrocution death of elephants. Although, except for the tea garden areas, other cases happened mostly in cropland areas (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;28). People from the forest fringe and forest revenue villagers uniformly used fencing causes sudden death while they moving. They continuously raid crops and deliberately kill them using power line fencing. The reason already mentioned that most of the cases have observed the farmer or marginal farming labourer using it for their property protection without even relevant knowledge about prior species movement and presence in nearby forest areas. The communities that are involved in lethal incidents are very marginal labourers or farmers in nature. So, Elephants are now facing a serious threat from the supply of power to isolated communities and the resulting rise in electrocution mortality of elephants.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eElectrocution nature from defined corridors\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnother highlight of the study is the distance from the corridor and the nearest forest boundary in electrocution incidents (fig-7). As no such earlier work has been done to analyze such mortality patterns in NDL of West Bengal. A (Sukumar,2003) research study has found that the average distributional ranges of North Bengali elephant herds were 300 km for males and 580 km for females, indicating a lack of resources. First, the Elephant Corridor (EC) is important as a seasonal and occasional movement of elephants from one patch of forest to another place. Most of the elephant corridors are laid over by moderate habitat suitability with major obstructions (Ghosh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). The demarcated corridor (16) area is overexposed and encroached by human activities. This place may risk to the people in the area on a day-by-day basis. Most elephant deaths by human activities and human casualties by elephant are observed in the moderately suitable zone among other zones (Ghosh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). Both lethal and non-lethal activities are found near the corridor and forest boundary area. Government-owned lands, within which many of the lands under elephant home range, and marginal farmers are illegally cropped, and electric fences are used to protect the agricultural fields and their settlements in the study area. When the elephant comes into contact with it, it becomes a risk for the species. Based on the survey, during nighttime is most incidents happen during (3am to 5am). Nighttime is the most suitable time as rainy season is favourable to reach cropland for elephants for nutritious and palatable crops. Paddy, maize, and betelnut is most attracted due to their dietary habit in the study area. They consume during nighttime when they roam from one place to another. Secondly, the Intensity of HEC was found close to forest boundary (FB) and protected Area (PA) boundaries. The results of Gurung et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e), who observed a similar pattern in Chitwan National Park, where the majority of conflict instances occurred within 1 km of the forest boundary, are consistent with this. A similar outcome was also noted by Bhatta and Joshi (2020) from Shuklaphanta National Park. Agriculture, which depends on nearby natural resources, is the main source of income for communities living close to forest regions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study is relevant to analysis that distance from their habitat to incident places to further observe future prediction about this type of death. The y-axis showing the number of incidents and x-axis represents the distance from the elephant corridor in meters (fig-7). The trend shows a general decline in incidents while the distance increases. However, the pattern is non-linear, with fluctuations in the middle ranges. The highest number of incidents (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;7 incidents) is recorded within 0-1000m from the corridor. There is a noticeable dip in incidents at 1001-2000m, followed by an increase at 2001-3000m (13 incidents). After this, the incidents gradually decline, reaching their lowest at 6001-7000m. Interestingly, incidents increase again after 8001-9000m, suggesting another hotspot farther from the corridor. Also, y-axis represents the number of incidents. The x-axis represents the distance from the forest boundary in meters. This graph follows a more consistent declining trend compared to the first graph. The highest number of incidents (~\u0026thinsp;30 incidents) occurs within 0-1000m from the forest boundary. As the distance increases, incidents gradually decrease, reaching the lowest (~\u0026thinsp;2 incidents) at 3001-4000m. However, after 4001-5000m, there is a slight increase in incidents, though it remains relatively low. Proximity to the corridor and forest boundary influences the number of incidents. More incidents occur closer to the corridor and forest boundary, likely due to the higher presence of wildlife activity in these areas. The fluctuating pattern in the left graph suggests that certain areas further from the corridor still experience incidents, possibly due to human settlements or specific movement patterns of wildlife. The more linear decline in the right graph suggests that distance from the forest boundary has a stronger influence on reducing incidents. So, close to the EC and FB is higher the Elephants death in the study area. Boundary to 3000m (3km) is very risk for electrocution incident in bear future.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eElectrocution in different forest and non-forest areas\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study also focuses to identify that 60 incidents were observed in outside forest area while 14 incidents were in inside forest area. Also, Inside the Protected Area (PA) 03 and Outside PA were 58 incidents. The inside of the forest and protected area is non-human area and safe and free movement for them. But sometimes incident happened due to Low hanging electricity weirs. In the study area, this situation is same where the electricity weirs is supposed to get very down and when elephant passes through the sites, their body or trunk touches and suddenly died at the spot. This weir actually running from one place to another for supply electricity to the different departmental (420kv) offices, houses and some areas is covered with main power supply (11000kv). Many overhead weirs (Low hanging electricity weirs) pass with tea garden, roads, forest patches under elephant crossing zones. The rainy season is most dangerous for such type inside death and more outside the forest area cases.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eFig-7\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe diagram showing the relationship between the number of incidents with the distance from the corridor (a) and the distance from the forest boundary (b) in metres.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the study area, many elephants have died from natural causes and by HEC. The HEC by effective factors varies from one place to another, including the behaviour of people in the 12000 sq km region. HEC-affected areas are more vulnerable, and People are becoming aggrieved at such a situation and trying to collectively install fencing by illegal methods. Local communities collectively support the usage of fences to deter elephant forays, negative interactions with elephants, and subsequent losses. However, this requires further study. The farmers are installing illegal electric fences around their croplands to safeguard their crops at the expense of elephant lives, even though they were aware that there was a chance of elephant activity at the time. More lethal electric fences were discovered in our analysis than non-lethal ones, and more of the lethal fences were intentionally constructed inside notified forests and villages. This is due to the deadly fence's affordable price tag, simplicity of maintenance, and use of readily accessible materials like bamboo poles, wires, and rubber or plastic bottles (insulators) with electroplating galvanized iron wire rope (wire diameter 1.5 mm). The majority of nonlethal fences (accidentally) were longer, permanently erected, and located outside and near forest boundaries. With it, elephant deaths are happened by also happen accidentally (non-intentionally), due to LHW in the areas where elephant corridors exist, forest fringe villages, power lines, or riverine transmission power line areas. In the majority of northern areas, deadly barriers were put up during the paddy planting and harvesting season, which runs from June to December. Elephants prefer paddy because it is more palatable, highly nutritious, and rich in salt (Sukumar, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1990\u003c/span\u003e). Elephants in Sri Lanka are known to show up at rice fields as soon as the harvest season begins (Santiapillai \u0026amp; Read, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e). However, since wild boar damage to crop fields is a significant problem in the research region, in addition to elephants, the situation of electrocution outside of the typical elephant pathways can be handled independently. Interestingly, several incidents is higher near EC and FB than far distance from it. So, these high-density areas are at high risk for elephant death. We predict these areas shall be maintenance and manages all the supportive measures to protect this giant species in the study area without any alarming effect. We can conclude that people may take drastic actions if they fear losing their crops or having their property damaged. The study region is positive attitude between HEC and Elephant Electrocution. HEC areas are naturally prone to elephant electrocution deaths. The region has seen considerable increases in conflict in day-to-day life over the years. The study identified (Dash et al, 2024) that many electrocution incident areas have faced conflict in the last 10 years. In the field, it is observed that more crops are cultivated, representing a negative attitude towards elephants. Although many have a favourable opinion of forest officials, most have an unfavourable opinion about elephants. A common strategy to lessen negative encounters between people and animals is to install electrified fences (Evans \u0026amp; Adams, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). Nonetheless, there are instances where people alter them to murder people from the species that harm crops.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study highlights the critical issue of elephant electrocution in NDL, West Bengal, emphasizing mortality by electrocution patterns with a predictive hotspot map for future analysis and management using primary and secondary observations.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe first finding is that 97% of the incidents happened overnight or early morning, while people are either slipping or ready to sleep out of their beds in the study region. Furthermore, most of the incidents observed were lethal incidents by protected crops and houses in the region. 85% of incidents happened outside of the forest and protected area, while 15% of cases happened inside the forest area due to non-lethal and LHW. Since 2010, we have surveyed all the incident places and communicated particular crop field household person and the surrounding people. After 2014, the chances of such incidents happening regularly and after 2023 all these decrease due to formed the Anti-electrocution cell over the region. In about five places, such committees have been placed with the representatives from various stakeholders like WBSEDCL (power supply authority), Tea gardens, Army, Gram Panchayat, Police, Non-governmental organization (NGOs), JFMC members etc., under the chair of Assistant Divisional Forest Officials (ADFO)sector.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the study area of West Bengal, the results of this research may help to address societal concerns about wildlife. Using a risk zone map, planners and management authorities can find a scientific way to maintain and monitor regularly the movement of elephants or corridors. According to the study, nighttime elephant mortalities were high. Joint night patrolling may restrict regular movement in high-risk areas of cropland. The awareness needs to be built up is important through the effective measures of relevant officials, Gram Panchayat representatives, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including JFMC (Joint Forest Management committee) members, to residents and farmers in very high to high-risk zones for further incidents. Therefore, to meet the dynamic character of such events, the study suggests improving the sharing of knowledge about the importance of elephants in nature and the environment among the farmers and villagers. The many forest divisions of the study area have now started anti-electrocution cell joint inspection in the field to identify sagging lines, illicit power connections, and unscientific power lines in the particular jurisdiction by deputing all the joined departments in non-forest and forested areas. Long-term solutions must focus on habitat improvement-conservation, cultivate non-elephant-friendly agriculture practices in the past incident events, and strengthen community engagement to enhance the coexistence between humans and elephants in the study area. Such methods, either single or together, can be applied depending on the local environment and would help to reduce illegal elephant mortality cases. Also, we support a more harmonious relationship between humans and wildlife by mitigating electrocution mortality incidents.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003eAll authors have read, understood, and have complied as applicable with the statement on \u0026ldquo;Ethical responsibilities of Authors\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe author has no conflict of interest\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eFunding\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe author has not used any funding\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSaumyajit Ghosh, Mrinmay Mandal have developed the concept, data curation, formal analysis, and discussion. Vikash Vijayaprakash and Devesh Pandey reviewed the manuscript and gave significant comments. Shasanka Kumar Gayen reviewed and edited the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAcknowledgement\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team is grateful to the forest authorities for allowing this investigation to be conducted. The West Bengal government\u0026apos;s Forest and Wildlife Department assists in the research work. In this paper, the researchers provide their thoughts and conclusions. We thank the frontline forest staff of several ranges under different Forest and Wildlife Divisions who helped to take the survey team members for observation and communication about the incidents. Regarding the establishment of its promotion of any specific good or service, or the legal standing of any country, territory, city, or region under its authority, the task has been expressed. We appreciate your cooperation throughout this study, CCF Wildlife North \u0026amp; Field Director -Buxa Tiger Reserve, DFO-ADFO Kurseong, Darjeeling, Gorumara, Baikaanthpur, Jaldapara, and DFD Buxa Tiger Reserve East and West. We are also grateful to the Sarpanch, Mukhias, Pradhans, frontline workers, and all the villages that assisted with the fieldwork.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eData Availability Statement\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe datasets generated or analysed during the current study are available at the request of the corresponding author.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAll India Synchronized Elephant Population Estimation. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Report. 2017.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBhatta, M., and R. Joshi. 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Fencing Elephants: The Hidden Politics Of Wildlife Fencing In Laikipia, Kenya. Land Use Policy, 51, 215\u0026ndash;228.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGatrell, A.C., et al., 1996. Spatial point pattern analysis and its application in geographical epidemiol ogy. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series, 21 (1), 256\u0026ndash;274.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGhosh, S., Mandal, M., Das, D. \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e Modeling on the assessment of habitat suitability and conflicting nature nexus of human-elephant-environment at the Alipurduar district in India. Model. Earth Syst. Environ. 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Environmental Conservation, 32, 260\u0026ndash;269\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"environmental-monitoring-and-assessment","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"emas","sideBox":"Learn more about [Environmental Monitoring and Assessment](http://link.springer.com/journal/10661)","snPcode":"10661","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10661/3","title":"Environmental Monitoring and Assessment","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Asian elephant, kernel Density, Lethal fence, Elephant mortalities, Harmonious relationship","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6621321/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6621321/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThreatened species are known to be significantly impacted by human-induced mortality of animals. Elephants dying by electrocution have become more common in various states, including West Bengal's Northern District Landscape in India. Wildlife is at serious risk because of an illegal and dangerous electric fence that is located close to protected forest areas. Occasionally, people fence their fields to prevent elephant incursions, while at other times, farmers electrify their fences without authorization to protect their crops. This can have fatal consequences. This intensifies friction and frequently prompts farmers to take retaliatory action. The study aims to assess the extent of electrocution-related elephant mortality in the study region, identify different risk zones, and evaluate the underlying factors contributing to these deaths in forested areas spanning about 12000 km\u0026sup2;. The primary observation is taken with the help of surveying the places where the incidents occurred. The different information, such as year, month \u0026amp; time, etc., is gathered during field visits. The study has been evaluated using several significant criteria, including remote sensing and GIS data. The density tool is used to display the kernel density risk map with the help of incidence locations to analyze the risk of elephant mortality. This research suggests supporting conservation efforts for this keystone species and provides insights into conflict mitigation strategies by analysing mortality trends. The study emphasizes the need for effective measures by officials, Gram Panchayat representatives, and NGOs, including the Joint Forest Management Committee, to address high-risk zones for additional incidents.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Geospatial Analysis of Elephant Mortalities by Electrocution from Northern Districts Landscape of West Bengal, India","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-05-17 02:34:42","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6621321/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-06-11T10:12:41+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-06-10T09:04:31+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-05-28T06:02:12+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"290180880155546785522750282836550542964","date":"2025-05-20T10:16:04+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"97947658534433983471419657882826422219","date":"2025-05-19T10:24:17+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"274771578543840549713865812392911794626","date":"2025-05-19T10:22:32+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"40750248789679864315319777330997325438","date":"2025-05-14T11:56:58+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"270243229873548819172069796713919633539","date":"2025-05-14T10:08:44+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-05-14T10:02:21+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-05-10T06:38:30+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-05-10T06:37:32+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Environmental Monitoring and Assessment","date":"2025-05-08T13:44:31+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"environmental-monitoring-and-assessment","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"emas","sideBox":"Learn more about [Environmental Monitoring and Assessment](http://link.springer.com/journal/10661)","snPcode":"10661","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10661/3","title":"Environmental Monitoring and Assessment","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"207dc67c-c21c-4c15-8f78-4cfae808855c","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 17th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-09-22T16:01:06+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-6621321","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-025-14492-7","journal":{"identity":"environmental-monitoring-and-assessment","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Environmental Monitoring and Assessment"},"publishedOn":"2025-09-19 15:57:02","publishedOnDateReadable":"September 19th, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-05-17 02:34:42","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s10661-025-14492-7","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-025-14492-7","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6621321","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6621321","identity":"rs-6621321","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}