Kuanmara: A man sustained injuries after an elephant attacked him while he was taking a selfie at Damasahi village under Jaipur panchayat of Gopabandhunagar block in Mayurbhanj district Friday.
The identity of the injured is yet to be ascertained.
According to forest officials, the elephant picked the victim upon its trunk and tossed him to the ground. However, he was rescued by local people and forest officials before something tragic happened.
As many as seven elephants have strayed into the area from Kuanmara forest range. The presence of the jumbos has left the residents panic-stricken. They entered into the farmland and destroyed the crops of villagers.
The villager along with the team led by Kuanmara forester Dhruv Charan Basantia had gheraoed the elephant Thursday to the Nilgiri area.
One of the elephants got separated from the herd at Kathaphala while the remaining six elephants returned to Purungaon, damaging the standing paddy crops on the agricultural lands.
Following which the forest department has been urged to contain the elephant menace. On being informed, as many as more than 40 officials from Baripada, Udala and Dukura reached the spot and tried to move out the elephant Thursday.
PNN