🐘 July 17 2026

July 17, 2026

The Elephant News Service is provided by Save the Elephants for elephant lovers, scientists and conservationists who want to stay informed on the latest elephant news from reputable media sources worldwide. The stories are presented in no particular order.

Tony Das, Daily Pioneer (India), July 16, 2026

In a major bid to resolve the escalating ecological crisis, the Assam Government has initiated a comprehensive consultative process to develop a scientific and sustainable strategy for managing human-wildlife conflict across the State, with a particular focus on the human-elephant conflict and the rising monkey menace. City& Local Guides. This was announced by Assam Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Jayanta Mallabaruah.

Itishree Sethy, Pragativadi (India), July 16, 2026

A 16‑year‑old boy, Alok Mahanta, was killed in a wild elephant attack near RS Colony in Bandhamunda, sparking tension in the area. According to reports, the tusker suddenly attacked Alok, leading to his death on the spot. Following the incident, agitated locals gathered at the site, creating a tense situation. Forest officials and staff rushed to the spot and held discussions with residents to pacify the crowd.

Paya Linda Yahya, New Straits Times (India), July 16, 2026

A bull elephant startled teachers and pupils of SK Blau in Pos Blau. Teacher Tengku Mohamad Farid Tengku Mohd Nordin, 35, recorded a video of the animal wandering outside the school fence at 8.30am, before Orang Asli villagers drove it away. "The incident happened when the children were inside the school compound. Fortunately, the elephant remained outside, but its presence alarmed teachers and pupils. "I recorded a video of the elephant as it wandered through a field in Kampung Blau.

Ramesh Kumar Paudel, The Kathmandu Post (Nepal), July 16, 2026

Wildlife authorities have located and fitted a satellite tracking collar on a notorious wild elephant responsible for at least 25 human deaths, days after it killed a woman and her young son in southern Nepal. The wild bull elephant, known as ‘Dhurbe’, was found at around 10:30pm on Wednesday near the Sukhivhar post in the western sector of Chitwan National Park after a 10-day search. Avinash Thapa Magar, the park’s information officer and conservation officer, said the elephant was tranquilised using a dart before officials fitted it with a GPS-enabled satellite collar.

ASRP Mukesh, Times of India (India), July 15, 2026

At an age when most students were busy with Class 12 board exams, 17-year-old Avi Mohan Shukla was spending nights building a device to tackle one of Jharkhand’s most persistent rural crises — human-elephant conflict. The urgency is stark. In Hazaribag’s Barkatha block, a 32-year-old daily wager was trampled to death by a herd on July 7, days after a 50-year-old man was killed by three elephants on July 4. In May, two young men, a 25-year-old in Giridih and a 19-year-old student — died in elephant attacks. Et is expected next month, possibly in the Ranchi and Khunti belt,” Shukla told TOI.

Gayathri V Raj, Deccan Herald (India), July 15, 2026

Traffic on the busy Bandipur-Ooty road was disrupted for a while when a herd of wild jumbos stood on the road, blocking vehicular movement. Thus, several vehicles were stranded on both the sides of the road for more than an hour, causing inconvenience to the passengers. A herd of around five to six elephants blocked the Bandipur-Ooty National Highway, that passes through the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Gundlupet taluk, Chamarajanagar district. This resulted in a traffic jam as the vehicles were left stranded, waiting for the jumbos to move away from the road.

Times of India (India), July 15, 2026

An elephant calf got separated from its mother and fell into a water pit in Nalvattekare village of Nellihudikeri. The calf, believed to be about five years old, reportedly fell into a small pit dug for a piggery around 8.30 pm. After the calf fell into the pit, its mother spent nearly an hour trying to rescue it. Residents later alerted the forest department about the incident. By the time forest department officials and staff reached the spot, the calf had managed to climb out of the pit and rejoin its mother and the rest of the herd.

Telangana Today (India), July 16, 2026

The Kerala Forest Department has demanded detailed documentation from actor Mohanlal after he declared six additional elephant tusks under an amnesty scheme, raising his total declared count to 10 tusks and 13 ivory artifacts amid ongoing legal battles. Malayalam superstar Mohanlal has revealed that he is in possession of five pairs of elephant tusks, prompting the Kerala Forest Department to seek detailed documentation on three additional pairs that were disclosed only recently.

Ifham Nizam, The Island (Sri Lanka), July 15, 2026

Top The death of 128 wild elephants during the first four-and-a-half months of 2026 has triggered renewed concern among Wildlife authorities and conservationists, who warn that unless urgent and science-based interventions are implemented, the country could be heading for another year of heavy elephant losses. Figures released by the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) show that 128 elephants died between January 1 and mid-May this year. Illegal electrocution, shooting, train collisions, poisoning, hakka patas (jaw bombs), and other human-elephant conflict-related incidents remain the leading causes of death.

The Telegraph India (India), July 15, 2026

Alertness and prompt action by two loco pilots helped save an elephant calf that suddenly wandered onto the railway tracks under the Alipurduar railway division area of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) before daybreak. Around 3.40am, loco pilot Rajib Roy and assistant loco pilot D.J. Sarkar were operating a light engine — a standalone loco — when they noticed the elephant calf moving near the tracks between Banarhat and Carron stations of Jalpaiguri district. Then, it stepped on the tracks.

Stephanie Edwards, Discover (U.S.), July 16, 2026

There are few things more iconic about elephants than their large, floppy ears. And it turns out, their ears may be more impressive on the inside than on the outside. Long before a distant herd comes into view, an elephant likely already knows it is coming, thanks to silent messages sent through the ground. A new study helps explain why elephants are so good at detecting these underground signals. The answer appears to lie in an unexpected combination of enormous middle-ear bones, oversized eardrums, and a unique ability to close their ear canals at will.

Asian Elephant News