A tea plantation in east India came up with a strange solution to deter elephants eating their crops, by erecting a life-size giraffe statue to confuse the animals. <br /><br />The Dholaguri tea estate in Golaghat district, Assam installed the 10-foot-tall model at the entrance of the farm land to keep elephants away, as seen here on October 31. <br /><br />Giraffes are not native to India, meaning elephants there are unfamiliar with the giant African animals, possibly causing their caution around these statues. <br /><br />According to assistant manager of the estate, Mr. Alok Borborah: "We have heard that elephants get scared of giraffe statues, that’s why we have installed this giraffe made of wood and fiber. <br /><br />"This was installed a week back, from the day we have installed this model of giraffe we have observed that elephants after seeing it now changed their route. <br /><br />"We will observe for some days more to come to conclusion that whether it’s a successful move or not." <br /><br />Reportedly a herd of around 20-25 elephants coming towards the tea estate changed their route after seeing the giraffe. <br /><br />One of the tea estate workers claimed that one or two more giraffes models, that cost 50,000 rupees (£544) apiece, may get installed in future.
