Elephants go on a rampage in the Nilgiris, Coimbatore
Around 2 am, a wild elephant entered the Kudamulla tribal village and damaged three houses in search of food. As the families woke up, terrorised and raised an alarm, other villagers came to their rescue by chasing away the elephant.
Tusk recovered from thicket by forest officials in Coimbatore
COIMBATORE: Villagers from a tribal settlement besieged the Forest Range Office (FRO) after a wild elephant targeted three houses in their neighbourhood near Gudalur on Friday early morning.
Around 2 am, a wild elephant entered the Kudamulla tribal village and damaged three houses in search of food. As the families woke up, terrorised and raised an alarm, other villagers came to their rescue by chasing away the elephant.
Following the incident, a large number of tribal residents besieged the FRO office in Gudalur and demanded that the forest department prevent elephant intrusions. They claimed that even though several elephants roam near their village, only one of them has been habituated to visit their tribal area. It needs to be driven deep into the Mudumalai forest area, the villagers said.
In another incident, a herd of five elephants attacked the house of an estate official in Valparai on early Friday morning. The elephant herd strayed into Manikka Estate and damaged the walls and windows of Ravichandran to search with their trunks for food. Fortunately, he was away with his family when the elephants attacked.
Following demands by panic-stricken estate workers, the forest department has increased surveillance to prevent the entry of elephants.
In another incident near Coimbatore on Thursday night, a wild elephant damaged a farmhouse of one Rajappan near Kembanur in Thondamuthur and devoured fodder kept for cattle. On receiving information, the forest department staff arrived and chased away the elephant after a struggle of over one hour.
