Keonjhar: A herd of 23 elephants have strayed into Champua township in the district, leaving local residents panicky.

The animals had made their way into the township on Sunday night. However, they are yet to cause any damage. Over 150 forest personnel of elephant squad were pressed into service to drive away the herd.

They have tasted success and managed to chase 22 female elephants back to forest areas.

"However, a tusker, which headed the herd, is showing no signs of leaving. It was last sighted near the Champua College on the outskirts of the town," said Champua forest range officer Ghanashyam Barik.

"We are still in a spot of bother as apprehension of the herd sneaking into township looms large. We have sounded alert in the urban areas. Through public announcement system, we have warned the local villagers to restrict their outdoor movement after sunset," he said.

"The animals' interference into human habitation areas is often reported after the sunset. Though they were chased back on Sunday night, the animals reappeared again on Monday morning. It was quite a tough task to drive away the animals. But, the lone tusker of the herd is unyielding in leaving the place. Still, we are hopeful of chasing the animals back to their habitation corridors by our skilled service group of elephant squad personnel," the official said.

Last month, herds of over 30 elephants had intruded into the forest-side villages in the Champua range, wrecking havoc in over a dozen of human settlements. Elephants on the prowl had damaged several houses at the villages. The jumbos on rampage had also ravaged the crop fields. However, they were tracked by the GPS technology and later successfully chased back to their original habitat, said forest officials.

Unlike tigers, elephants are not territorial and migrate long distances.