But here’s the quiet tragedy nobody talks about: in 25 years, 522 people and 216 elephants have died in human-elephant conflicts. That’s nearly 20 deaths a year; humans and jumbos alike. The forest isn’t shrinking. The villages aren’t shrinking. But the space between them is. And when elephants raid crops or homes, panic turns to tragedy. The state’s wildlife departments are trying electric fences, early warning systems, even “elephant corridors”; but it’s a race against time. Because for every elephant that dies, a community loses its fear. And for every person lost, a forest loses its reason to stay wild. This isn’t just about conservation. It’s about coexistence; and if we don’t fix it, both sides will keep paying the price.