Elephant herd near village sparks panic in Cooch Behar district's Balasundar village
Telegraph | 14 January 2026
A herd of 17 wild elephants entered Cooch Behar district's Balasundar village in the Mathabhanga subdivision, about 10km south of the Jaldapara National Park in Alipurduar district, on Tuesday morning.
The herd mostly stayed on the bank of the Dudua river, which flows through the village, and damaged some crops. An elephant crossed the river in the afternoon but soon returned to rejoin the herd. However, no injuries to residents or major property damage were reported till evening.
According to a forester, the herd included several calves. This prompted the forest personnel to refrain from actively driving the animals away as the adults could turn violent if disturbed.
Forest officials said they were informed that a group of elephants was moving south from Jaldapara around 3am. The herd reportedly passed through a tea estate in Cooch Behar before reaching Balasundar village. Forest staff were following the herd, but dense fog severely hampered visibility.
As the pachyderms strayed into the village, some locals spotted the animals in the fields and raised an alarm.
Hundreds eventually gathered at the site, prompting the forest department to deploy eight to 10 forest teams to manage the crowd and monitor the elephants.
The foresters expressed concern that the presence of the calves could make the mother jumbos feel threatened, increasing the risk of aggression. They used public address systems to warn residents to stay away from the area and successfully averted a crowd near the herd.
Parveen Kaswan, the divisional forest officer of Jaldapara wildlife division, said dense fog in the morning made it difficult for personnel to track the animals.
“Following the footprints, our staff reached the location. Throughout the day, we made announcements to alert and educate villagers and teams were deployed on a rotational basis to manage the crowd as well as to monitor the herd,” he said.
“Since evening, we have been cautiously trying to guide the elephants back to Jaldapara. The presence of calves remains our primary concern,” he added.