India, June 5 -- Jharkhand's small and marginal farmers are facing large-scale crop and grain losses as elephants, nilgai, wild boars and monkeys raid fields and stored harvests.

In Latehar's Katai Tola village, a herd of 14 to 15 elephants destroyed paddy stored in threshing grounds, wiping out months of work for tribal farming families.

State data shows Jharkhand records an average of 9,245 crop damage cases and 1,146 grain damage cases caused by elephants every year.

Elephants have killed at least 15 people in the past two-and-a-half months, while 397 deaths were recorded between 2021 and March 2025.

Farmers say compensation is too low, delayed and difficult to access, leaving many poor tribal families unable or unwilling to file c...