

Panicking villagers try to shoo away massive herd of 150 elephants

A massive herd of elephants marched through villages in Odisha, India, creating widespread panic. Terrified villagers of the Keonjhar district raised the alarm after they spotted an estimated 150 elephants in their vicinity. They said the new herd is in addition to 70 jumbos that entered the area in the last week of September seeking grazing grounds. Villagers said they feared for their lives and say the hungry animals destroy their standing crops. Senior forest officials of Keonjhar district said additional personnel had been drawn from nearby areas to monitor the movement of the elephants and keep them away from the villages. Experts blame the growing conflict with elephants on the rapid expansion villages, which have encroached into elephant territory. Elephants migrate long distances in search of food and require large areas to support their ecological needs. Odisha, which houses 70 percent of the total elephant population in eastern India, has lost 423 elephant and 421 human lives due to human-elephant conflict since 2012. To minimise the conflict, the state government has made a plan to revive 14 elephant corridors to facilitate free unhindered movement of jumbos.
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