A massive herd of elephants marched through villages in Odisha, India, creating widespread panic. <br /><br />Terrified villagers of the Keonjhar district raised the alarm after they spotted an estimated 150 elephants in their vicinity. <br /><br />They said the new herd is in addition to 70 jumbos that entered the area in the last week of September seeking grazing grounds. <br /><br />Villagers said they feared for their lives and say the hungry animals destroy their standing crops.<br /><br />Senior forest officials of Keonjhar district said additional personnel had been drawn from nearby areas to monitor the movement of the elephants and keep them away from the villages. <br /><br />Experts blame the growing conflict with elephants on the rapid expansion villages, which have encroached into elephant territory. <br /><br />Elephants migrate long distances in search of food and require large areas to support their ecological needs.<br /><br />Odisha, which houses 70 percent of the total elephant population in eastern India, has lost 423 elephant and 421 human lives due to human-elephant conflict since 2012.<br /><br />To minimise the conflict, the state government has made a plan to revive 14 elephant corridors to facilitate free unhindered movement of jumbos.
