A tea plantation in east India came up with a strange solution to deter elephants eating their crops, by erecting a life-size giraffe statue to confuse the animals.

The Dholaguri tea estate in Golaghat district, Assam installed the 10-foot-tall model at the entrance of the farm land to keep elephants away, as seen here on October 31.

Giraffes are not native to India, meaning elephants there are unfamiliar with the giant African animals, possibly causing their caution around these statues.

According to assistant manager of the estate, Mr. Alok Borborah: "We have heard that elephants get scared of giraffe statues, that’s why we have installed this giraffe made of wood and fiber.

"This was installed a week back, from the day we have installed this model of giraffe we have observed that elephants after seeing it now changed their route.

"We will observe for some days more to come to conclusion that whether it’s a successful move or not."

Reportedly a herd of around 20-25 elephants coming towards the tea estate changed their route after seeing the giraffe.

One of the tea estate workers claimed that one or two more giraffes models, that cost 50,000 rupees (£544) apiece, may get installed in future.