Herd of elephants strays into Sidhi district

Sources said the herd includes three adults and two small elephants. It was seen in and around the jungles near Ramdaha Kund and Mach Mahua villages of the Kusmi block for the past one week. The presence of the elephants has sparked panic among the local residents, though the forest department has already sounded alert in the area.

The road between Bhuimar and Kusmi has been blocked by the forest department, due to which the residents of around three dozen villages have to travel additional 150 kilometres for reaching Kusmi block headquarters, said sources. This despite the fact that the distance between Kusmi and Bhuimar is only 30 km, added sources.

Sources said a herd of elephants strayed into the district last year also and two elephants of the herd lost their way. They were later found near Banjari village of the district. However, both the elephants later got electrocuted. However, the forest department is also alert about the security of the animals this time, added sources.

Elephants normally migrate from Orissa, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to adjoining areas of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh due to abundance of standing crops and bamboo, besides other forest produce. Normally, the herds take refuge in small patches of forests during the daytime and come out and raid the crops at night. In Madhya Pradesh, elephant straying was first noticed in Sidhi district in 2002.

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