COIMBATORE: A herd of elephants, which have taken refuge in the foothills of Western Ghats, continue to stray into villages and raid farmlands in Coimbatore.

Villagers were gripped in fear as an elephant herd got down the Ayyasamy hills and entered into nearby residential settlements on Wednesday night.

On receiving information, the forest department split into three teams and took up chasing operations. The elephant herd moved into Kuppanur village and took shelter in a dense shrub along the forests.

The villagers have urged the forest department to take concrete measures to prevent the elephants from coming into their locality. It was a day ago; the elephant herd strayed into Thondamuthur and consumed ration provisions stocked in a PDS shop.

Similarly, an over ten member herd of elephants have made their way from Kerala to the catchment area of Sholayar dam in Valparai. The elephant herd ventured out of the forests and took bath in the waters on Wednesday evening and continued to stay in the same area. As there is a possibility of those elephants to march towards residential localities, the forest department is maintaining a constant vigil.

Since other herds of elephants are migrating through the tea estates, the forest department has urged people to be cautious.