JASHPUR: A herd of elephants is said to have camped in Badalkhol Sanctuary area officials said. As many as 40 elephants are said to have damaged crops.

Officials have alerted residents in the stay put as they monitor the movement of the tuskers in Kalia and neighbouring areas.

A week ago, a male elephant calf died of electrocution in a sugarcane field in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district. The carcass of the one-year-old elephant was found with a live wire in its mouth in Puslada village, Raigarh Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Stylo Mandavi said.

Preliminary investigations revealed that a herd of 19 elephants had wandered into the village. The calf came in contact with an electric wire and died, the official said.