Ipsa Tripathy
Bhubaneswar: The sight of an elephant walking near a residential colony is enough to stop traffic, draw crowds, and spark concern. In recent months, residents in areas around Bhubaneswar have witnessed wild elephants wandering close to human settlements. Videos spread rapidly on social media. Forest officials rushed to monitor their movement. Citizens worried about safety. The immediate reaction was understandable: why are elephants entering our spaces?
But perhaps there is another question worth asking. Are elephants entering our world, or are we steadily expanding into theirs? The answer may reveal a deeper environmental challenge unfolding quietly on the outskirts of Odisha’s capital.
The Forest Beside the City
Few Indian cities share such a close relationship with wildlife as Bhubaneswar. Just beyond the expanding urban landscape lies the Chandaka-Dampara Wildlife Sanctuary, established primarily to protect elephants and the forest ecosystem they depend on. Spread across the forested uplands between Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, and Khordha, Chandaka has long served as an important elephant habitat.
For decades, elephants moved freely through these forests and adjoining landscapes. However, the geography around them has changed dramatically. Roads have widened. Residential projects have expanded. Educational institutions, commercial establishments, and infrastructure developments have transformed areas that were once part of a larger natural landscape.
The city has grown. The forest, however, has not.
Why Are Elephants Coming Closer?
Wild elephants do not follow administrative boundaries. They move according to food availability, water sources, seasonal conditions, and traditional migratory routes that have existed for generations. Wildlife experts often describe elephants as animals with extraordinary memory. Herds tend to follow ancient movement paths passed down through generations.
When these pathways are interrupted by roads, buildings, walls, or other forms of development, elephants do not suddenly abandon them. Instead, they attempt to navigate around obstacles, often bringing them dangerously close to human settlements. Reports from Chandaka indicate that elephants are seen moving into areas such as Bharatpur, Sikharchandi, and nearby urban fringes. In some cases, they damage fences, walls, or crops while moving through these landscapes.
From a human perspective, these incidents create fear. From an elephant’s perspective, it may simply be trying to reach habitat that once existed beyond a newly built obstacle.
A Conflict We Created?
Human-elephant conflict is often presented as a problem caused by elephants. The reality is more complicated. Odisha is home to one of India’s most significant elephant populations and numerous elephant corridors. As settlements expand and natural habitats become fragmented, interactions between humans and elephants become increasingly difficult to avoid.
The issue is not that elephants have suddenly changed their behaviour. The landscape around them has changed. A forest that was once connected to surrounding habitats can gradually become isolated. Development projects may improve transportation and economic opportunities, but they can also create barriers for wildlife movement if ecological planning is overlooked.
The result is a growing overlap between human activity and elephant movement. When that happens, neither side truly wins. People fear for their safety and property. Elephants face stress, injury, and in some cases death.
The Cost to Wildlife
For elephants, the consequences of shrinking habitat can be severe. These animals require large landscapes to survive. They need access to food, water, and safe movement routes. When confined to smaller areas, competition for resources increases. There exists highlighted concerns about elephants occupying a relatively limited area despite the sanctuary’s larger size. This concentration increases pressure on both wildlife and nearby communities.
The problem extends beyond elephants. When a forest becomes fragmented, the entire ecosystem suffers. Birds, reptiles, smaller mammals, and countless plant species are affected by habitat disruption. Elephants simply become the most visible sign of a much larger environmental challenge.
Development Versus Nature? Or Development With Nature?
Odisha’s growth is important. Cities need roads, housing, educational institutions, hospitals, and industries. Development has improved quality of life for millions of people. The question is not whether development should occur. The question is whether development can occur without cutting off the ecological systems that sustain biodiversity.
Around the world, conservationists increasingly advocate for wildlife corridors, ecological zoning, and landscape-level planning. These measures allow development to continue while preserving critical pathways used by wildlife. For Chandaka and its surrounding region, protecting and restoring elephant corridors may be one of the most important conservation challenges of the coming decades.
Recent elephant sightings near Bhubaneswar should not be viewed merely as isolated incidents. They are reminders. Reminders that forests do not end where city boundaries begin. Reminders that wildlife continues to depend on landscapes that are rapidly changing. And reminders that conservation is not only about protecting animals inside sanctuaries. It is about protecting the connections between those sanctuaries and the wider world.
When an elephant appears near a city, it is easy to see it as an intruder. But perhaps the more uncomfortable truth is that the elephant is following a path its ancestors used long before the city expanded into the landscape. The challenge before Odisha is not simply keeping elephants away from people. It is ensuring that both can coexist in a landscape that belongs, in different ways, to them both.
Because if the search for space continues to push wildlife further into shrinking habitats, the question will no longer be why elephants are entering our cities. The question will be whether we left them any place else to go.