COIMBATORE: A video of a mother elephant with her calf wandering near the forest boundary due to a farmhouse allegedly obstructing the duo’s path by placing an electric fence at Anaikatti went viral on social media on Tuesday.
Soon after the video surfaced, animal lovers wanted the Coimbatore forest department to check whether the farmhouse was occupying the forest land by illegally fencing the area.
An animal lover and a social activist from Anaikatti, GPN Joswa said, “It’s shocking to note that a fence is obstructing the animals’ path. Obstructing the path of wild animals such as elephant and spotted deer is an offence. This is one of the examples of human-elephant conflict in Anaikatti.
The forest department should carry out an immediate inspection to check whether the farmhouse owner set up the fence by occupying forest land or the fence is posing a threat to the elephants.”
However, the Forest Department denied claims of the fence obstructing elephant movement. The officials clarified that the fence was set up on the patta land of the owner.
District Forest Officer of Coimbatore Forest Division D Venkatesh said, “Our staff inspected the area and found that the owner set up a fence within his area. No violation was found. In fact, our staff rescued the calf that was stuck inside a pit near the fence two days ago. Our team is monitoring the mother and calf round-the-clock to prevent them from entering the residential area.”