By IANS
Bhubaneswar : Two rogue elephants were caught and Sunday transported back to Orissa from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, where a herd of 11 had over the months destroyed crops and houses, leading to several clashes with human beings.
Wildlife officials in Andhra Pradesh tranquillised two elephants and sent them on a truck Saturday night back to the Lakhari Valley sanctuary in Orissa’s Gajapati district, over 200 km from here, said Hanif Muhammad, a wildlife official.
At least 11 elephants, including a calf, had in July crossed over to Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayanagaram district from the sanctuary, which houses about 50 elephants, Muhammad told IANS.
While one elephant died since July, another earlier returned to the sanctuary. The remaining nine animals have created havoc in the past months, he said.
They killed at least six people in Orissa and nine in Andhra Pradesh, besides destroying dozens of houses and hundreds of acres of crops.
Andhra Pradesh wildlife officials had earlier tried to drive the herd away with the help of trained elephants and by using drums, torches and firecrackers, but to no avail. The officials finally managed to trap four of the animals in the past two days.
While two were sent to Orissa Saturday night, the other two will be transported in the next couple of days.
Human-elephant conflict has increased over the years in Orissa, with the animals straying into towns, cities and neighbouring states in search of food.