Patna: Two days of rampage by wild elephants at the periphery of a forest in Bhagalpur district of Bihar led to loss of four human lives and injury to over six persons on Saturday.
According to a senior police official, wild elephants gored to death four persons in Bansitikar area near Sabour in Bhagalpur district.
The police official said that two people were killed by the elephants on Friday in Bhagalpur.
The elephants again damaged standing crop and several houses, besides killing two more villagers on Saturday leading to fear in the minds of locals who were left at the mercy of god after theFriday’s attack, said a villager.
When the wild elephants did a repeat of Friday’s incident, the district administration sought help of the forest department officials to capture the erring animals.
The wild elephants are believed to have strayed into Bihar from the forest of neighbouring Jharkhand.
Meanwhile, refusing to squarely blame the pachyderm for their act in which four human lives were lost, expert in fact held the human population to a larger extent responsible for shrinking of forest that forces wild animals to venture out in search of food and water.
“This phenomenon is more frequently witnessed during summers when there is scarcity of water in the water bodies of the forested areas. These elephants in search of water and food venture into human settlement where besides damage to standing crop, such tragic conflicts are witnessed,” added the expert.
He further said that when on Friday, the elephants went on a violent spree, the forest department officials should have been cautious enough to avoid any repeat by way of scaring away the wild elephants in the event of spotting them again near human settlement.