Villagers desert homes fearing elephant attack

Villagers desert homes fearing elephant attack
Enews.com
October 9th, 2006

Fear of revenge by a herd of elephants has forced people in a Jharkhand village to flee from their homes following the death of a baby elephant after it fell into a well.

A baby elephant fell into a well in Banta village Saturday night, about 70 km from here after it got separated from the herd. The elephant finally succumbed to injuries Sunday morning despite a valiant rescue bid by the villagers and forest department officials. The death of the elephant has terrified the villagers who are either deserting the village or preparing to face the herd of angry, rampaging elephants.

‘It is better to move out to other places for the time being. The herd will certainly attack the village,’ said Ramgopal Mahto, a resident of Banta. Echoed Shyamal Mahto, a fellow villager: ‘The herd has 13 members and they can destroy our village any time.’

The forest department is also taking precautionary measures to keep the tuskers away from the village. ‘A group of 20 people will be constituted to drive away the tuskers into the forest areas,’ said Krishna Kumar, a forest official. ‘Firecrackers and kerosene oil will be distributed among the villagers to tame the tuskers’.

In the last five years, more than 350 people were trampled to death by pachyderms in the state. Wildlife experts said shrinking forest cover and encroachment upon elephant corridor has created this man-animal conflict.

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