Once the epicenter for deadly human-elephant conflict, an eastern Nepal village along the Indian border has transformed into a model of coexistence.

Villagers, once fearful, have adopted elephant-resistant crops and beekeeping, and through a rapid response team, they safely guide elephants away.

Government policies, conservation efforts and shifting community attitudes have significantly reduced fatalities, with no deaths reported in the area since 2015.

While Bahundangi offers a model for coexistence, villages along the migratory routes for elephants have become hotspots for human-elephant encounters, requiring the need for conservation corridors and education to mitigate conflicts.

Desperate, villagers, including Rasaili, were accustomed to banging their tin drums and waving flaming torches in a futile attempt to drive them away. On the evening of Dec. 8, 2021, Rasaili even contemplated resorting to the old methods. But his family members remembered what local campaigners had told them about elephants and did something different.

Instead of shouting or fighting back, they quietly stayed indoors. With half of its body inside their home, the elephant devoured the rice and then moved on.

Once a hotspot for human-elephant conflict, this village has transformed itself into a model of peaceful human-wildlife coexistence through a combination of innovative strategies, conservationists say. The communities in the last decade adopted crops that are unappealing to elephants and have changed their attitudes toward the animal, thanks to the effective implementation of government support.

Arjun Karki led the initiative to encourage farmers to switch to crops other than maize and rice. He says that, at first, the farmers — who traditionally grew Nepal’s staple crop, rice — were skeptical.

Today, the village sells tea worth 22 million Nepali rupees ($158,700) annually, according to Karki. Farmers have also embraced bay leaves and lemons, further diversifying their income.

In recent years, farmers of Bahundangi have also started beekeeping because bees naturally deter elephants. “We are encouraging farmers to cultivate mustard, which attracts bees and supports beekeeping initiatives,” says Karki. This approach not only helps protect crops but also provides an additional source of income for farmers.

Meanwhile, the community has mobilized volunteers into a rapid response team (RRT) to guide elephants away from residential areas and ensure safe passage through migratory corridors.

While Bahundangi has transformed itself from a place plagued by human-elephant conflict to the one living in harmony with the animal, the villagers west of it are now grappling with the challenges.

In January alone, three villagers were killed following an encounter with a wild elephant in Sundar Haraicha, roughly 85 km (53 mi) west of Bahundangi.