A lone tusker strayed into Ambo village under the Anandapur subdivision of Odisha’s Keonjhar district early on Tuesday, triggering panic among local residents and putting forest and police authorities on high alert. The elephant is suspected to have wandered into the human settlement from the nearby Hadgarh Elephant Sanctuary.

Forest officials said a coordinated response was initiated soon after the tusker was sighted inside the village. However, large crowds soon gathered along roadsides to catch a glimpse of the animal, raising serious concerns over public safety and the risk of human–elephant conflict.

Forest Department Deploys Monitoring Team

A 20-member Forest Department team, led by the Anandapur Divisional Forest Officer, has been deployed to closely monitor the movement of the tusker and prevent any untoward incident. Officials are maintaining continuous surveillance of the animal’s movement while making efforts to guide it away from human habitation and back towards the forest corridor.

Traffic Disrupted On Bhadrak–Anandapur Road

The presence of the tusker led to traffic disruption on the Bhadrak–Anandapur road, which remained blocked as the elephant was seen roaming along the stretch. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on both sides of the road, causing inconvenience to commuters.

Police personnel were engaged in regulating traffic while simultaneously attempting to disperse the growing crowd from the area.

Crowd Behaviour Raises Safety Concerns

Despite repeated warnings issued by the Forest Department and police, several hundred people were seen chasing the elephant to take photographs and videos. Reports indicated that thousands of onlookers, including children, continued to follow the tusker, creating a highly volatile situation.

At the time of filing this report, the visibly distressed elephant was observed making mock charges towards the crowd, further escalating safety concerns. Officials cautioned that such behaviour could provoke the animal and lead to serious injury or loss of life.

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Forest and police officials remained on high alert and appealed to residents to stay indoors, maintain a safe distance from the elephant and cooperate with authorities. They said public cooperation is crucial to ensure the tusker can be safely guided back to the forest without any incident.