Scientists have discovered an unusual elephant repellent, which they claim can save hundreds of acres of paddy farms from the invasion of pachyderms. ARC-11511 will keep away elephant herds from attacking rice plantations in the country. After everything failed to bring down incidents of elephants marauding rice plantations, especially in the north-eastern parts of the country, scientists have come out with just the right thing to keep the pachyderm away from appetite-soaring rice fields. ARC 11511, developed by country's premier rice institute, has successfully managed to keep elephants away from the agricultural field simply because this rice does not suit their tastebuds. Once home to 50,000 wild Asian elephants, India is left with not more than 2,500 wild elephants whose lives are under threat not only due to poaching but man-animal conflicts. A recent study carried out by the Centre has shown that elephants prefer food crops over forest fodder and often travel hundreds of kilometres to the same agricultural land annually, even remembering specific months of harvesting. Many elephants face the wrath of angry villagers who poison them or simply kill them. Studies have shown that due to shrinking forests and encroachment on elephant corridors, these animals have started adapting to new food habits. Conservationists said attacks on paddy fields by elephants was considered an occasional occurrence a decade ago. But in recent years, these attacks have increased in which both animal and human lives are lost. Successful field trials have been conducted of this rice variety in areas like Sonitpur in Orissa and Khurda in Bhubaneswar to test its adaptability and also its repulsiveness to the pachyderm. Officials said this variety can save hundreds and thousands of hectares of land from the occasional rampaging by these big animals simply because elephants have refused to eat them. According to Project Elephant officials, the Central Rice Research Institute has been asked to go ahead with the largescale development of this rice variety. States which are mostly affected by elephant attacks have been asked to take trials of this variety so that farmers can be asked to go ahead with plantation of this variety. Elephants are migratory animals and move from one forest to another through corridors which are now fragmented due to villages and farmlands, forcing these animals to change their habits. Though they are officially designated inter-state elephants corridors, some of these corridors have been encroached upon by humans. One of the reasons why elephants attack paddy fields is that some of the corridors are being used as agricultural land.