Wild Elephants Cause Panic, Destroy Property and Crops Near Shuklaphanta National Park

Kanchanpur. Local residents are worried as a herd of wild elephants has entered settlements near Shuklaphanta National Park, destroying houses and damaging food grains and wheat crops.

In recent days, a herd of elephants has been causing damage in Marghatia Camp and Baishakha Camp of Shuklaphanta Municipality-12. Devaki Rana and her husband Dansingh Rana of Marghatia Camp narrowly escaped after an elephant entered their house at night. Two days ago, they were startled by a loud noise on the wall of their mud house while eating dinner and sleeping, and they fled to save their lives.

“The elephant broke the grass fence and inserted its trunk inside the house,” Devaki said, “It is hard to say what would have happened if we hadn't run away.” According to her, the elephant ate and destroyed two sacks of rice, ten kilograms of lentils, and five kilograms of turmeric that had just been brought into the house.

According to locals, a large herd of elephants, including calves, entered the settlement. Although some elephants returned to the park after passing through the settlement, two elephants destroyed houses and ruined food grains.

Elephants have also damaged crops in Baishakha Camp. According to farmer Bikhlu Chaudhary, elephants have been entering the fields every evening for the past four days. “The wheat has started to head out,” he said, “but the elephants are eating it before it ripens.”

According to him, the wheat crop on his ten katthas of land has been destroyed, and the wheat planted on nearly two bighas of land belonging to eight farmers has been wiped out in four days. Locals say that the elephants enter the fields before evening and only return to the park in the morning. Local Awaj Singh Dhami complained that although the Ward Office and Park administration were informed about controlling the elephants, effective measures have not been taken. “We have to live in fear all night,” he said, “We are afraid that they might enter the house at any time.”

The problem of elephants damaging crops and physical structures recurs every year in Marghatia and Baishakha camps adjacent to the park. Locals experience that the movement of elephants increases during the crop ripening season.

Sumla Rana, a local leader, emphasized the need for a guarantee of human safety, even though wildlife conservation is necessary. “Along with conservation, there must be a reliable arrangement for security,” he said.

Locals have demanded the installation of electric fencing, solar lights, and sirens to control the elephants. They stated that a long-term plan is necessary to mitigate human-wildlife conflict.

According to locals, if effective steps are not taken in time, the risk of such recurring incidents causing major human casualties at any moment is increasing.