Human-Wildlife Coexistence: Keonjhar Woman Feeds Hungry Elephants
For villagers living along forest fringes in northern Odisha, elephant encounters are not rare. What made this moment stand out was the calm response. No shouting, no firecrackers, no attempt to drive the animals away — just food placed at a distance and patience
Bhubaneswar: On a humid Thursday night in a small Keonjhar village, fear could easily have taken over. Instead, compassion did.
When a herd of elephants wandered into Purushottampur village under the Telkoi forest range in search of food, residents of one house chose not to chase them away. Kuntala Penthei and her family quietly stepped outside and placed two sacks of paddy in their garden, offering the animals what they had come looking for.
The elephants ate, lingered briefly, and slipped back into the darkness of the adjoining forest — leaving behind an unusual story of trust in a region more accustomed to headlines about human-wildlife conflict.
Penthei recalls that the herd first announced its arrival with noise.
“They were searching for food and knocked down some plywood sheets kept near the house,” she said. “My son saw them and called us. We understood they were hungry. So we gave them paddy. After eating, they left.”
Minutes later, the herd returned — this time accompanied by a large tusker.
“We fed all of them again. They didn’t harm anyone,” she added.
For villagers living along forest fringes in northern Odisha, elephant encounters are not rare. What made this moment stand out, locals say, was the calm response. No shouting, no firecrackers, no attempt to drive the animals away — just food placed at a distance and patience.
Forest officials described the episode as a reminder that coexistence, though fragile, is still possible.
Dhanraj Hanumant Dhamdhere, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Keonjhar, said elephants typically turn aggressive only when threatened.
“Elephants do not come with the intention of harming people or destroying homes. When they are chased or irritated, they become stressed and may damage property. There are many villagers like Kuntala Penthei who understand this and believe in coexistence,” he said.
In recent years, shrinking forest corridors and crop availability have increased contact between elephants and human settlements across Odisha. Such encounters often end in panic, sometimes violence, and occasionally tragedy.
