A herd of 32 wild elephants that entered a mango orchard near Kelamangalam were driven back to the Reserve Forests by the forest officials after a four-hour exercise.
This despite elephant proof trenches being dug for a distance of about 89 km. However, these trenches were breached by the farmers who wanted to take their cattle inside the forest for fodder. These damaged trenches helped the elephants enter into human habitations as well.
Human-elephant conflict in India is causing dozens of casualties on both sides every year.
There’s no more space for the giants.
Photo credit: The Hindu