Wildlife officials in far-western Nepal are intensifying surveillance of two solitary male elephants that have been moving repeatedly between forest edges and settlements near Shuklaphanta National Park.

Authorities say both animals were separated from their herds and have since become more aggressive.

The two elephants–a tuskless male, locally called a makuna, and another with a missing tail, widely recognised by residents–usually travel together but away from larger herds. Locals say they often linger in the forest patches adjacent to villages before entering settlements, mostly before nightfall, to search for food. Residents report regular incidents of crop destruction, damage to houses and close encounters with villagers.

Late on Tuesday, the tailless male entered Bankatti in ward 14 of Bhimdatta Municipality. According to residents, it struck the kitchen section of a mud house. When 45-year-old Dhana Bishta stepped outside to assess the disturbance, she was attacked. Locals said the elephant dragged her toward a pile of straw, where she was found lifeless shortly after. It is one of several fatal encounters in the district in recent years.

Purushottam Wagle, a conservation officer at Shuklaphanta, said both elephants have become high-risk because they no longer move with a herd. Elephants usually travel in family groups, with older females at the centre, which keeps younger or lone males from acting unpredictably. Once an elephant is expelled for undisciplined behaviour or becomes detached, the likelihood of conflict rises sharply.

Wagle said the park has formed multiple tracking teams and is coordinating with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation to install radio collars on the two elephants. A formal request has been submitted, and technical teams are currently following the animals manually.

Officials have warned residents not to store food grains in bedrooms and to remain indoors after dark. Elephants are drawn to food stored inside homes, and conservation staff say this increases the risk of encounters.

Shuklaphanta National Park is estimated to hold more than 40 resident elephants, although an official census has not been carried out. The park also sees a seasonal influx of elephants from India’s Dudhwa National Park. These cross-border herds tend to travel in large groups and occasionally enter Nepali settlements, damaging paddy, wheat and sugarcane fields and in some seasons destroying dozens of houses. Fatalities from elephant encounters are reported almost every year along the Nepal–India border belt.

Local governments and the park authority have tried electric fencing, trenches and other barriers around the park’s perimeter. Many residents living near the boundary say they remain fearful as the animals continue to breach settlements despite repeated interventions.