COIMBATORE: Four kumkis are on their toes to drive away two crop raiding tuskers, which have been frequenting residential areas in Pandalur in the Nilgiris.
The forest department’s action came as the residents staged a protest on Tuesday after one of the wild elephant damaged a compound wall and entered the portico of a house in Pandalur.
The kumki elephants, Wasim, Vijay, Bomman and Srinivasan, were brought from Theppakadu elephant camp in Mudumalai.
“Intrusion attempts by both wild elephants into residential areas have been stopped successfully. With the help of kumkis, sustained efforts have been taken to drive away the two elephants into deep forests. The movement of two tuskers is monitored using drones,” said an official.
Meanwhile, a 64-year-old farm worker from Ganapathipalayam near Kadambur in Erode was attacked to death by a wild elephant early Thursday morning. According to the forest department, Raman was heading to Iruttipalayam by foot to supply milk in a co-operative society, when a wild elephant came his way.
“As he attempted to run away, the elephant caught him by its trunk and flung him on a rock. He died on the spot. The elephant then retreated into the forest area,” police said. In a similar incident, a 60-year-old farmer was killed in an elephant attack in Coimbatore on Tuesday night.