Bhubaneswar: A herd of 160 elephants on Tuesday strayed into Keonjhar district from Jharkhand and trampled crops in acres.

Prior to this, a herd of 40 elephants had destroyed crops and houses at Dalimbadiha and Bakharatola villages of Sundargarh district. While the cases of man-elephant conflict are on the increase in the state, the government is struggling to come up with a permanent solution to the problem.

Though last year's census had showed a marginal increase in the state's jumbo population that went up to 1,976 from 1,954 in 2015, statistics show that the scale of casualties in the clash between elephants and human continue to be high.

The number of elephant casualties in the state in the past five years has been around 400 as compared to the death of over 300 persons in jumbo attacks during this period. While poachers were responsible for a majority of elephant killings, a number of deaths were also caused by high-tension wires.

Sources said while hunters and wildlife smugglers have been responsible for the killing of more than 28 elephants in the past five years, nine have died of poisoning and 60 killed in accidents.