A herd of a dozen elephants rumbled across a highway in eastern India’s Odisha, blocking traffic as well as the commuters.<br /><br />The incident took place on August 8 along National Highway 200 between Dhenkanal and Parjang.<br /><br />Footage shows the elephants, including calves, making their way across the highway, as vehicle movement comes to a halt.<br /><br />According to statistics, 2,044 elephants lived in Odisha’s dense forests in the year 1979, as opposed to a decline to 1,976 in 2017.<br /><br />Odisha has lost more elephants than most elephant bearing Indians states, with elephant populations in some states twice of Odisha’s.<br /><br />The Odisha elephant population faces a grave threat as about 20 adult breeding male elephants die each year, mostly due to poaching and electrocution.
