COIMBATORE: A wild elephant and a sloth bear raided ration shops in Valparai and Coonoor in separate incidents, damaging and devouring food stocks and raising concerns among residents about increasing wildlife incursions into human habitations.

In the early hours of Monday (August 24), three elephants from a six-member herd strayed into the Sincona area of Valparai and broke open the door of a ration shop.

The elephants pulled out sacks of rice from the shop and consumed them. A large quantity of rice was found scattered in front of the shop after the animals left the premises.

The raid took place during a power outage caused by heavy rain and strong winds. Meanwhile, the other three elephants from the herd entered a tea plantation area in Periyakallar.

Forest Department personnel, who were alerted to their movement, drove the animals back into the forest.

In a separate incident in the Nilgiris, a sloth bear broke into a ration shop at Thuthurmattam near Coonoor on Sunday night and damaged and consumed food stocks.

The bear reportedly ate food items, including rice, sugar and palm oil, before leaving the shop. The incident comes amid growing concern over frequent bear incursions into human habitations around Coonoor in search of food.