Officials have taken extra precautions to prevent human-wildlife conflicts after a couple of uninvited guests crashed a popular picnic spot in India.
What's happening?
The Sikharchandi hilltop in the city of Bhubaneswar was closed to visitors after two elephants were spotted in the area, according to the Orissa Post. Forest officials were deployed to keep an eye out for the animals.
"We are closely monitoring the situation and working to drive the elephants away as quickly as possible," one forest ranger said.
Per the Orissa Post, tourists and locals were turned away from Sikharchandi due to the elephant sightings. Officials said the area would reopen after relocating the elephants safely.
This isn't the first elephant sighting in the region. According to The Times of India, elephant herds wandered into human-populated areas multiple times in 2025.
Why is human-wildlife conflict concerning?
Human-animal encounters are occurring more frequently due to factors such as a shifting climate and population growth.
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According to University of Washington researchers, the human-wildlife overlap is expected to increase across more than half of Earth's land in less than fifty years.
There were no reported injuries from the elephant encounter at Sikharchandi, but similar conflicts have resulted in fatalities. In 2021, CNN reported that about 500 people die every year during encounters with elephants in India.
India isn't the only place where dangerous animals enter human-inhabited areas. In Lake Tahoe, Nevada, a couple were hospitalized after an encounter with a bear in their garage. Elsewhere, a mountain lion took a dog from its owner's backyard in Erie, Colorado.
Per the BBC, there were more than 5,000 large carnivore attacks between 1950 and 2019 around the world. Nearly one-third of those incidents turned deadly for humans.
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Definitely 👍 What's being done about human-wildlife conflict?
A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service specialist told the BBC that preventing conflicts with wildlife starts with respecting animals and setting boundaries. However, it's also important to know how to react to wild animals in order to avoid injury.
Researchers have continued to issue warnings about the rise in conflicts. Changing weather patterns are consistently named as a significant factor.
Reducing your carbon footprint can help mitigate the changing climate and potentially lower the amount of human-wildlife conflicts. Switching to an electric vehicle or installing energy-efficient appliances are great ways to make eco-friendly changes at home — and save money in the long run.
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