Community mitigation decisions in elephant conflict zones of southern India depend on environmental and socio-economic drivers.

Human-elephant conflict is a major threat to people and elephants across Asia and Africa. Understanding the factors influencing people's decision to implement mitigation measures is crucial to devise better conflict mitigation measures. We surveyed 507 rural communities in elephant dominated landscapes, across four districts in southern India using snowball and opportunistic sampling. Fourteen covariates were analysed through a mixed-methods approach, using Classification and Regression Trees (CART) for quantitative analysis, and thematic analysis for qualitative insights. Three key drivers: rainfall, land ownership and proximity to water bodies shaped mitigation decisions. The CART revealed two distinct decision paths. In Path 1, households with lower rainfall and smaller landholdings had a 68% likelihood of adopting mitigation measures. In Path 2, households experiencing higher rainfall and bigger landholdings, closer to water bodies, had a 7% likelihood of adopting mitigation measures. Notably, trenches were linked to elephant injuries, while solar and electric fencing were associated with elephant deaths, indicating poor design and maintenance of these mitigation measures resulting in elephant casualties. Despite the conflict, communities expressed sadness over elephant casualties, reflecting strong cultural ties. Our findings underscore the necessity for proactive measures, including early warning systems, patrolling networks and regenerative agricultural practices to promote biodiversity. As global interest in conflict mitigation grows, integrating local knowledge is essential for community-based management in shared landscapes.