Food shortages force elephants to forage on farmland

1. Elephant walking into village, villagers following 2. Elephant walking through village in search of food, stepping on utensils lying on ground 3. Villagers watching 4. Elephant brushing its back against thatched roof of hut 5. Various of elephant walking through village, villagers watching 6. Elephant seen through door of a village hut 7. Elephant spraying hay on its back with its trunk and then shaking it off 8. Crowd of villagers walking behind elephant 9. SOUNDBITE: (Bengali) Amirannussa, villager: "If they don't get food in the forest, why wouldn't they come here? They're hungry and that brings them here." 10. Paddy fields close to forest 11. Various of farmer harvesting crop 12. SOUNDBITE: (Bengali) Ismail Hussain, farmer: "The problem is - elephants come from the forest, then they come to our paddy fields, eat the paddy and destroy the field. Thousands of farmers have lost their paddy crops to this problem." 13. Elephant herd in forest 14. Elephants crossing path to enter fields and human settlement area 15. Forest officer on lookout for elephants, he points as he hears elephants 16. Various of elephant herd running back into forest as it is chased out of fields 17. Villager running in fright 18. Pan over elephant footprints in path used by elephants 19. SOUNDBITE: (English) P. Jakhar, Forest official: "Now the whole of the corridor - in several places it is encroached by human beings. It has been converted into paddy fields. It is very difficult to remove those encroachments and human settlements - but that is the only permanent solution to this - that slowly slowly, step by step, you settle the population somewhere else, make the forest more suitable for elephants." (Night shots) 20. Various of villagers lighting flame torches to ward off elephants 21. Various of villagers carrying flame torches and running, making loud noises to scare elephants away STORYLINE: India's elephants are facing ever increasing pressures on their natural habitat and food supplies as the country's human populations continue to expand into forest areas, according to Wildlife experts. The encroachments result in disruption to traditional elephant migration routes, forcing the hungry animals into human space in search of food. In North-Eastern India the sight elephants straying into villages is becoming all too familiar. Every year large numbers of elephants come down from the hilly forest areas of West Bengal to the adjacent plains which are lush with food crops. Many walk over to the villages - encounters which can sometimes turn violent. This time, anxious villagers watch the spectacle with fear, waiting for forestry officials to guide the elephant back into the forest. Hundreds of people are killed by elephants in Asia every year, while reports of elephants being captured and killed are on the rise. The reason, according to a report by the Worldwide Fund for Nature, is that about 20 percent of the world's human population lives within the present range of Asian elephants, and that number is growing by nearly three percent each year. Too many people are moving into areas that infringe on elephant habitat. Forest officials say there is a need to provide elephants with migratory corridors that avoid areas inhabited by humans. In Hindu mythology the elephant is a revered animal. The elephant God Ganesha is one of the most popular Hindu Gods. But the encroaching human population has turned the animal into a menace. For villagers living near the Kathambari forest, the nights are spent keeping vigil. Earlier in the year a herd of 200 elephants came down to the area, causing massive destruction of the paddy crop. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/599902049e7abd220cf9147e019237e9 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork