A video of a big crowd of persons chasing an elephant has sparked outrage on social media. Indian Forest Service officer Sudha Ramen shared the disturbing footage on Twitter to raise awareness on the concern of human-animal conflict.
According to the Wildlife Trust of India, human elephant conflict has enhanced due to encroachment on forest land and loss of habitat. In India, a significant chunk of the country’s elephant habitat is unprotected or currently in use by humans, which suggests that these gentle giants normally stray into human settlements though generating their each day or seasonal migration via their dwelling ranges. Elephant corridors let elephants to move amongst safe habitats freely, with no getting disturbed by humans.
“Unlike humans, animals don’t limit or know their boundaries. When it comes to elephants, the memories of passage are carried across generations,” wrote IFS officer Sudha Ramen. “People living near forest areas or near the corridors should not panic, as this could trigger d animal. They too have the right to passage.”
No words!! Wondering who is the animal right here ???? pic.twitter.com/LAcY276HdX
— Sudha Ramen IFS ???????? (@SudhaRamenIFS) March 17, 2021
Her video has sparked outrage on social media, with lots of criticising the crowd for chasing the animal and other individuals branding the behaviour “inhuman”.
“What can we call this? Shameful behaviour from the crowd,” wrote one Twitter user.
“So sad, how can we educate our public about this and also safeguard the poor animal?” an additional asked.
In her Twitter thread, Ms Ramen mentioned that forest departments across the nation have been working to educate persons and address the concern of man-animal conflict.
“Let me tell you, each case is different and there is no ‘one-solution’. Anthropogenic pressure is mounting up over d forests & wildlife, so the animals are equally the same stress. Awareness is the key,” she wrote.