Panic on bus as herd of elephants comes face-to-face with passengers in southern India

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Edited text Original text This is the moment a herd of elephants blocks the road and comes face-to-face with a bus loaded with passengers.

The incident took place near Thengumarahada in South India on February 11.

The driver of a Tamil Nadu State Road Transport Corporation bus, which was heading to Ooty, came across the herd and stopped the vehicle at a distance.

Many passengers panicked and asked him to turn back. He can be heard in the video assuring them that 'nothing will happen.'

The herd drew close and a few elephants even approached the bus menacingly making grunting sounds.

But luckily for the passengers, the elephants went away on their own after standing on the road for some time.

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Elephants kill 3 people in India

NEW DELHI, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- A mother-daughter duo and a forest official were killed Monday in two separate elephant attacks in India, officials said.

The mother and daughter were killed in India's eastern state of Jharkhand, while the forest official was killed in southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

"Today in the morning a woman and her daughter were trampled to death by elephants in Rampur village of Gumla," an official posted in Ranchi told Xinhua over the phone.

According to forest department officials, a herd of elephants entered a village, triggering panic among villagers.

"Eyewitnesses told us seven elephants surrounded the house of Archna Devi and destroyed it. The herd trampled her to death along with her daughter, when she tried to escape the attacking animals."

The elephants later on returned to the forest area after damaging many houses and properties in the village.

In a separate incident a 43-year-old forest official was also trampled to death by an elephant in Andhra Pradesh.

Every year many people get killed or injured in the growing man-animal conflict across India.

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Foraging elephants kill man guarding crop

One person was killed by a herd of elephants when he was guarding his vegetable crop in the early hours of Monday at Balanda village in the Rairangpur forest range.

The victim was identified as Gobardhan Lakra, 45, a resident of Balanda village. The herd consisting of 15 elephants had sneaked into the area from the Sundargarh forest division. It was moving towards Rourkela but found enough plantation, mainly vegetables, midway and remained there.

Lakra, who was guarding his plantation, had come face to face with the elephants and tried to escape but in the process fell down. The herd, which was enraged as the villagers were chasing it, came charging towards Lakra and trampled him to death.

Rourkela DFO Subash Swain said: “The victim’s family has been given Rs 20,000 for the cremation. The family will also get Rs 4 lakh towards compensation according to the government policy.”

Another herd has come dangerously close to human habitation near the Kalunga industrial estate on the outskirts of Rourkela. The elephants have taken shelter in a defunct saw mill on the junction of Kalunga and Industrial Development Centre. There is no compound wall of the mill and it is spread over 15 acres. A portion of the area has a small reserve forest spread over 10 acres.

“The elephants are not visible because of the growth of the foliage and bushes,” said Kameswar Singh, who resides nearby. Banu Biiswal, a businessman, who stays inside the industrial estate, said: “There are nearly 10 elephants in the area.”

Kuanrmunda range officer Sudhansu Sahani said: “We will undertake a drive to chase the animals.”

Another herd of 17 elephants is creating havoc at three villages under the Rourkela forest division. The herd reached there only two days ago. “In a day or two, they will be chased back,” said an official.

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ELEPHANTS CHARGE AT HUNTERS AFTER ONE IS KILLED

A video showing an elephant being hunted in Namibia has gone viral. The video features two men with rifles aiming at a herd of elephants. The video further shows one elephant being shot and others chasing the hunters

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Jumbo herd wreaks havoc Elephants target grain stocks at homes

"Our house was attacked from two sides. We were terrified. Besides taking away the maize stock, the elephants damaged a bed and a chair kept on the veranda. We stay cooped up inside the house and came out only after an hour after the herd left," he added.

Divisional forest officer of Dhanbad Saurabh Chandra said a quick response team was deputed towards the western side of Tundi Pahad where the herd was staying for the last three days after its arrival from Giridih.

"We didn't expect the elephants to come down from the eastern side as it was not the usual route. Our team comprising 15 persons, including torchmen and members of quick response team, reached the village around 2.30pm," he said.

According to Chandra, the preliminary report suggests that at least eight houses had been damaged.

"We will provide compensation to all eight families within 15 days of the submission of application. The compensation amount will be decided after the detailed assessment of damage and its extent. It will also depend on whether the house was kachha or pucca," he said.

The divisional forest officer said their immediate plan was to restrict the herd to Tundi Pahad.

"it would serve as an ideal place for the elephants because of its dense foliage and presence of water" Chandra said, added that they also requesting people not to keep mahua in their houses as elephants are attracted by its smell.

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Pachyderm woes worry villagers in Wokha

Dimapur, July 25 (EMN): Wild elephants entering human habitats in Wokha district have left behind a trail of destruction and fear. The public of stated area is reported to be living in constant fear, community organisations have informed.

A joint press release issued by the chairmen of Old Riphyim Village Council and New Riphyim Village Council, was received here on Wednesday. It stated that wild elephants have damaged paddy fields, and crops in said villages.

They have reported that a herd of about 20 wild Asian elephants was spotted by villagers at an area called Tchukhum, located at a quarry a few kilometres away from a helipad, on the morning of July 23.

The incident is stated to have happened close on the heels of a report by a district committee about the loss of human life and damage to crops and properties by wild animals.

The villages reported that the presence of wild elephants in their only cultivable land and forest was becoming a threat to the lives of the people in the area. It is causing frustration among the farming community of Old and New Riphyim villages, it informed. It was reported that wild elephants had been venturing closer to human settlements every year, and posing a threat to humans and the elephants alike.

A district forest officer said that the area was badly affected. The source informed that the same herd of elephants had been around for a while in the area because there are “many things to eat in the fields,” the source said when contacted.

While acknowledging the plight of the people, the source said it was impossible to ‘take the elephants away in such a terrain.’ It was informed that partial funding was given to the affected farmers from ‘Project Elephant,’ which is a project that caters to elephant reserves.

The officer asserted that the matter was not an ‘elephant menace’ but a ‘human-elephant conflict.’ “There is a need to do a lot more for this issue especially in Wokha as 50% of elephants in Nagaland is in this district,” the source said.

Cultivation and plantations in the vicinity are not safe and piggery and dairy farm projects have been abandoned also because of the fear of elephants, it was informed.

As the majority of the population there are cultivators, it stated, they depend solely on farming and green produce for livelihood. With the crops on the verge of being harvested, there seems to be a growing apprehension among the farmers that their crops would be damaged by the elephants unless the government takes measures, the statement added.

The villagers have appealed to the Nagaland government to offer compensation for the loss caused by the elephants. The authorities have been urged to assess the impact of the issue on farmers.

In the country, it is informed that nearly 350 deaths occur every year due to man-elephant conflict. According to a report of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, over 12000 hectares were reportedly damaged during 2013-14.

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