Uttarakhand: Video captures elephant taking stairs, officials say it’s deviation from forest path that’s surprising

NAINITAL: After a few minutes of trying to negotiate its way into a shed, the elephant, one of three, gives up. A few minutes later, it starts climbing the stairs of the Girija Temple at Ramnagar in Nainital.
CCTV footage of an elephant climbing stairs, like the one that went viral in February this year, has drawn curious interest but what's surprising, forest officials said, was just how close to human habitation they came.

Even until a decade ago, the area between Dhangarhi and Sundarkhal was an elephant corridor that the elephants would take. But with increased human activity, encroachment and repeated ecological disturbances, it fell into disuse. The lockdown however has eased their passage again.
Over the past two months, locals around the area have been spotting elephants in the area. “But it is for the first time that they came this close to human habitation. Without damage, that is. As elephants wander into human habitations, there are greater chances of human-animal conflicts. Just last month, some elephants had demolished huts in the area," said Jittu Papne, a resident of the area.
A Ramnagar forest division official told TOI that the temple has been shut because of the lockdown and few people step out now which is why, elephants are moving around freely. “Although elephants climbing stairs is not uncommon — they also trek hills with ease — the fact that they came this close to human settlements is surprising,” he added.