Forest staff attacked while trying to keep out elephants

BERHAMPUR: Four members of the forest department who had been engaged to drive away a herd of elephants were injured when a tusker attacked them near Talapada under the Digaphandi forest range in Ganajm district on Tuesday night.

The injured, including a forester and the anti-poaching squad, were admitted to the community health center at Digaphandi and discharged after treatment, forest officials said on Wednesday. Their condition is stated to be good, a source said.

A herd of eight elephants had been roaming the area after a nine-year-old tusker died last Sunday after fighting with other tusker. The herd of wild elephants had been in Changudidei forest for several months, probably due to abundance of food there, forest officials said.

“Following the death of the nine-year-old tusker, there is only one tusker in the herd now. We suspect it became violent as it is the breeding season of elephants now,” said divisional forest officer (DFO), Berhampur, AK Behera.

Behera said officials of his department have advised people not to venture near the herd, particularly the tusker. “Forest staff who were engaged to drive away the elephants were also advised to handle the situation without violating the area of the elephants,” he said

Meanwhile, people of the area have urged forest officials to drive away the herd from there. The elephants have been destroying harvested and standing crops. Angered over the delay in forest department taking action, villagers at Damadarapur, near the Changudidei hills allegedly attacked a forest staff recently, sources said.