Keonjhar: A team of forest officials from Bhutan is visiting Keonjhar to study elephant management and depredation issues in Odisha.

Like Odisha, people in Bhutan are also grappling with the problem of man-animal conflict. The official Bhutanese delegation has evinced keen interest to learn the finer points on how Odisha deals with the issue, Keonjhar forest division officer Sanotosh Joshi said.

"It's a skill and knowledge exchange programme. Accompanied by local forest officials, the team has undertaken trips to elephant corridors in Telkio, Barbil, Ghatagaon and Sadar forest ranges to study the nature of elephant depredation and intensity of man-animal conflict," said Joshi.

The Bhutanese team will also help the forest department here gain knowledge of ingenious elephant-chasing skill from the visitors.

The visitors were surprised to spot herds of elephants sneaking into villages. They were of the view that intensity of man-elephant conflict was more pronounced in Keonjhar than in Bhutan.

Joshi said the local technique of tracking elephants and chasing them back into the forest by the Keonjhar forest division personnel has impressed the visitors. While local elephants destroy paddy crops, those in Bhutan mostly ravage orange orchards.

Unlike Odisha, the Bhutanese animals are not aggressive. Consequently, the number of human deaths is less. However, elephants from the neighbouring Assam often enter Bhutan and create havoc. Managing the intruding Assamese elephants has become a major cause of concern for the Himalayan kingdom, Joshi said.

"Our forest officials accompanied them to Keonjhar Sadar forest areas on Saturday where a herd of around 35 elephants have strayed into areas close to human habitation," he said.

The Bhutanese officials were also briefed on digging up trenches in fringe villages to keep the elephants at bay. They were also told about the solar-powered fences.

Odisha has 1,976 elephants, according to the latest census.