Jumbo problem for Odisha forest officials

Elephant separated from herd wreaks havoc in Angul villages

December 22, 2017 07:12 am | Updated 07:12 am IST - BHUBANESWAR

 547 people have been killed in elephant-human confrontation in Odisha since 2010

547 people have been killed in elephant-human confrontation in Odisha since 2010

An elephant separated from its herd has been wreaking havoc in Khamar forest range in Odisha’s Angul district for the past fortnight.

It has killed three persons so far and is getting aggressive by the day as villagers keep chasing the animal whenever it comes near human habitations.

Although a dedicated trackers’ team has been deployed to keep tabs on the jumbo, regular confrontations have been a cause for concern for the field-level staff of forest department. Angry villagers have threatened to kill the elephant if the problem is not solved immediately. A team of police personnel was deployed in the Khamar forest in the wake of the tension on Wednesday.

“We have written to our higher-ups requesting to drive the elephant away to a far-off forest area,” said Sukesh Kumar Shatrushalya, the Khamar Forest Range Officer.

“Widespread preparation of country liquor has made the matter worse. The elephant often raids the villages for the liquor,” he said.

No isolated incident

Three human deaths in Khamar forest range is not an isolate incidents. In Odisha, between April 2010 and December 2017, as many as 547 people have been killed and 288 have been injured in confrontations with wild elephants. During the same period, 571 elephants have died.

“In most cases, nearly 60% of the time, the confrontation is with the tuskers. There are particular tuskers who are aggressive and account for many kills. It is possible to prevent these confrontations if the tuskers are identified and continuously tracked, so that information about their movements can be passed on to local farmers if they are anywhere close to them,” said Biswajit Mohanty, secretary, Wildlife Society of Orissa, a non-government organisation.

“It has been found that elephant herds are teased and harassed by young men, which irritates them. When they come across old people who cannot run, they chase and kill them in vengeance. Many people have also been killed when the elephants are being harassed,” said Mr. Mohanty.

In Dhenkanal district, the forest department had removed the tusk of a male elephant which was responsible for injuries to more than three dozen people.

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