The straying of a herd of elephants into the Sikharchandi Hills area in Bhubaneswar on Friday triggered panic among locals
The herd comprising four elephants entered the area from the nearby Bharatpur forest. The animals were spotted moving around in the Sikharchandi forest.
Forest Department officials were keeping track of the movement of the elephants as they might stray into human habitats in the capital city.
Chandaka DFO Mohammad Jamil said the elephants strayed from the Bharatpur forest. However, there was nothing to fear about as the animals would return to the Chandaka forest before sunset.
As there are several shops and a few human settlements on the route of the elephants to Chandaka, forest officials were keeping a watch on their movement.
“The elephants strayed into Sikharchandi at around 1:30 am at night. There is a tusker, a calf and two female elephants among them. No one is being allowed to go that area,” said a forest official.
