Two injured in elephant attacks in Bengal

Birbhum, Nov 21 (UNI) At least two persons were injured while driving away a herd of elephants that went on a rampage in paddy fields at Mangaldihi village in Birbhum district today.

The Forest department had appealed to villagers not to provoke or harm the tuskers as it was taking measures to move the elephants back into the jungle.

It said a team, comprising district officials, was on its way.

Villagers said such phenomenon was nothing new since the pachyderm, caught between receding forest reserve and mounting human encroachment, emerge from time to time in search of food.

The population of elephants was assessed at 50,000 a century ago.

On the other hand, just 26,400 elephants were found roaming national parks and forests in 2002.

A downward trend was further revealed by the first comprehensive elephant census published in 2005, which showed a steep decline to just 21,300 pachyderms.

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