Assam is home to the highest number of wild elephants in India. While around one-third of the state’s land area is covered in forests, the green cover is constantly under threat from human encroachment.
Assam is no stranger to human-wildlife conflict. Between 2006 and 2016, wild elephants have killed 785 people, while 225 elephants have lost their lives due to poaching, electrocution, poisoning etc.
The Amchang wildlife sanctuary often witnesses these instances of conflict, which unfold when elephants and humans cross paths.
On the outskirts of the sanctuary lies the small, flourishing village of Misamari. Wild elephants regularly stray into Misamari in search of food, only to be met with hostile humans who use sticks, fire, crackers and sometimes even poison to chase them away.
On 11 January this year, a woman named Robin Murmu was trampled to death by a wild elephant who strayed out of Amchang to find food.
This Quint Lens curation of pictures by AP’s Anupam Nath chronicles the events of 9 February 2017, when a herd of wild elephants entered Misamari yet again, sparking a chaotic confrontation between the residents and the four-legged visitors.
(Quint Lens is a selection of the most vivid imagery created by our in-house pool of talent, and from across the web, created and curated with an eye on for that Quintessential twist. In this section, you can find some of the most refreshing camera and mobile photography documenting current news events, the history and everyday culture of India and the world, heartbreaking stories that can only be conveyed through pictures, celebrations and revolutions; basically, anything that simply needs to be CliQed!)
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