CHITTOOR: A 60-year-old farmer, S Ganapathi, was killed by a wild elephant in the early hours of Tuesday near Nagamvandlapalli village in Irala mandal of Chittoor district.
The fatal attack occurred around 2.00 am, just 800 metres from the Avulapalli Reserve Forest.
Villagers said Ganapathi had gone to his field, possibly to tend to his cattle, and may have been intoxicated at the time. However, the exact cause of death will be confirmed after the post-mortem at Chittoor Government General Hospital.
Despite efforts by the forest department to prevent such encounters, fatal incidents continue to threaten both human lives and crops. Forest authorities have launched an investigation.