RANCHI: A youth was crushed to death by a wild elephant in Koderma after he slipped and fell while trying to take photographs of the animal.
The youth, identified as Saddam Ansari (29), was first taken to Sadar Hospital in Koderma, from where, he was referred to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Ranchi, but was declared dead by the doctors.
Notably, wild elephants have created havoc in the villages under Domchanch police station on Tuesday night as well, due to which, the villagers are in panic.
According to locals, while taking photographs, Saddam went too close to the wild elephant which proved to be fatal for him.
“Saddam went very close to the elephant with an intention to click good photographs, during which he lost his balance and fell on the ground. Angered with looking Saddam too close to it, the wild elephant picked him from its trunk and knocked him down on the ground several times before finally crushing him to death,” said an eyewitness, requesting anonymity. The incident took place near Beladih village under Markaccho Block, he added.
Locals informed that a herd of elephants, roaming near Chopnadih since last night, are on a rampage, damaging the standing crops in the region.
“After getting the information about wild elephants near the village, Saddam also went out with his two friends to take pictures of the elephant. After looking them very close to it, the elephant started chasing them. His other two friends succeeded in running away, but Saddam's slipped and fell on the ground,” said the villager, requesting anonymity. The elephant picked him up with its trunk and knocked him on the ground several times and then crushed him under its feet, he added.
The wild tuskers roaming in Garhwa, besides damaging several properties and crops has killed three people within the last week of June.
A man sleeping in his house was killed after a lone tusker, separated from its herd, demolished a wall of the building which buried the man.
Notably, the conflict between humans and elephants in Jharkhand has become a major challenge for the government as a total of 1251 people lost their lives in elephant attacks in the last 16 years (during 2008 and 2024), while 202 elephant deaths have also been recorded in the same period.
According to data available with the forest department, out of the total of 24 districts, 20 districts have elephants, due to which, on an average 80 people are killed while over 150 suffer injuries in man-elephant conflict every year in Jharkhand.
Experts believe that due to rampant cutting of forests, elephants and other animals are entering the village and creating damages to life and properties.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Forest Department is all set to launch ‘Elephant Route Predictor’ app prepared on the lines of weather forecast, through which, the possible route of elephants could be known in advance. The app has been prepared on the basis of the research studies of the legacy data about the movement of elephants in a particular corridor.
According to officials, this web-based application has been programmed to think the way elephant thinks before making a choice about its migration route.