Villagers and elephants fight for right to life in India

Bappa Majumdar, Reuters
January 10, 2007
KOLKATA, India (Reuters) - When a herd of wild elephants rampaged through a school kitchen in India's West Bengal state, gobbling up rice and lentils, seven-year-old Suman Bera and classmates were left without lunch -- and lessons.
The animals left a trail of destruction in their search for food, forcing officials to cancel classes.
As forest habitat is felled by a growing population in need of more land for homes and farms, India's remaining elephant population and its people are coming into conflict, causing a jumbo-sized headache for rural officials and wildlife activists.
"It's a matter of survival for both man and animal," said Animesh Bose, head of the West Bengal-based Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation.

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