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Two wild elephants created a scare in West Bengal, as they frolicked in a river close to human habitation before vanishing back into the woods. The pachyderms, which presumably got separated from a heard migrating across the forest in Purulia district, were spotted frolicking in the Damodar River near Maithon dam in Burdwan district. The residents feared that the elephants might run over their fields and pull down their dwellings but the harmless animals made merry in the river waters before vanishing back into the woods. "We have got the information that the elephants have strayed here and we kept a watch on their movements," said Gopi Halda, a constable. With forests areas fast depleting, elephants seeking food, come to villages and sometimes raid the fields. Some emerge from the jungle to take advantage of the paddy harvest, others have discovered a taste for local liquor, and drink everything they can lay their trunks on. From China to Indonesia, India to Vietnam, Asian elephants are in danger, their habitats shrinking fast, and their communities increasingly isolated. According to the 2005 national census, there are between 25,000 to 28,000 elephants in India, including 1,500 male tuskers of breeding age. Elephants are a protected and endangered species in India, with the country having nearly half of the world's 60,000 Asian elephants. But conservationists say the pachyderm population has fallen rapidly in recent years because of a loss of habitat caused by human encroachment in forest areas, leading to human-elephant conflicts.
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