Poisoned blade is somehow even worse than that because you don ' t even get the totem <| sep |> your looks uglier than this one <| sep |> South Bengal ' s jumbo problem Livemint The irony is that the return of these herds to South Bengal is an indicator of robust forest growththe result of an afforestation drive carried out by the forest department and local communities Subhamay Chanda , chief conservator of forest , special development project , says , With the afforestation , these areas also witnessed a revival in crop quality providing a suitable habitat for the migratory elephants . Largescale clearing of forests and mining activities in the state have displaced elephants from their forest home SS Bisht , former director of Project Elephant This year , the Bankura division has had some success in restricting herd movements and limiting damage to crops and lives . Tracking elephant history in south Bengal Historical records of south Bengal show that prior to 1900 , the area had dense sal forests and was home to elephant herds . Kulandaivel , deputy conservator of forests in the urban recreation forestry division and a former divisional forest officer of Bankura north division , says , Due to depletion of natural food habitat in the forests , elephant herds have extended their habitat to cropland and changed their food habits . But over the years , the damages to cropland and villages by visiting herds increased , escalating to a menace the villagers are facing today . The forest department says that elephant herds from Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary in Jharkhand started migrating to south West Bengal 1987 onwards .