E-Paper
Watch: Wild elephant angrily chases people after they try to scare it away in Assam
In the winter season, the intensity of human-animal conflicts rises as the animals leave forests in search of food and are electrocuted or even poisoned by the villagers in an attempt to save their livelihood.
A video of a wild elephant chasing off local people in Assam has surfaced on social media. The one-minute-long video shared by news agency ANI initially shows a herd of elephants roaming in human neighbourhoods on the margins of a forest. In the later part of the video, the locals are seen trying to scare away one of the elephants which angers the animal as it soon turns around and chases back the locals for a while before disappearing into the forest.
"The herd of elephants have damaged several bighas of paddy crops in the area. We are now helpless," a villager said.
Also Read | Delayed rescue of elephant in Assam sparks debate of state’s preparedness
The event happened Wednesday evening in Assam's Rongjuli, Goalpara. ANI reported citing locals that a herd of 40 elephants took shelter in their locality and had come in search of food. The man-animal conflict has resulted in damaged paddy crops as the locals seek a solution.
Sarat Das, Forest Range Officer, Rongjuli told ANI around 70 wild elephants are currently taking shelter in different parts under Rongjuli Forest Range Office area. "A herd of around 35-40 wild elephants is roaming in the Rongjuli Kahibari area," the Forest Range Officer said
Also Read | Range of sounds deployed to spook elephants in Assam amid incidents of human conflict
Human-animal conflicts are very common in the state with nearly 800 people having lost their lives in the event over the past decade, as per government data. In the winter season, the intensity of such conflicts rises as the animals leave forests in search of food and are electrocuted or even poisoned by the villagers in an attempt to save their livelihood.
Home to the second largest number of elephants after Karnataka, Assam has initiated a new project in a bid to solve this issue. Called Elephant Acoustics Project, the digital solution involves a device and a mobile network and aims at mitigating the conflict by using sounds made by the animals to alert villagers about their presence and in turn using noises that scare the elephants to drive them away.
The team which has worked on the project hopes to formally launch it by December.
