KRISHNAGIRI: Three forest guards who were involved in an operation to drive away elephants in Denkanikottai forest range were injured on Friday. In a press release, wildlife warden K Karthikeyani said a team of forest staff were involved in driving away an elephant herd at Noganur reserve forest after a farmer K Pasappa (60) of Mararakatta sustained severe injuries when he was attacked by an elephant in the early hours. Forest staff rescued Pasappa and sent him to Denkanikottai GH. Later, he was shifted to Dharmapuri Medical College for treatment.
To ensure no other people sustained any injury, a forest team comprising of Denkanikottai beat Forest guards Mahavishnu and Parthiban along with Anti Poaching team guard, Sooriya were involved in driving away a herd of over 15 elephants. They were monitoring the elephants moving deep into the Noganur reserve forest away from the habitats. But, a female elephant with a calf turned around and charged at the three forest staff. To ensure their safety they ran away and fell along a nearby hill injuring themselves. They were taken to the Denkanikottai GH and later shifted to a private hospital in Hosur.
Denkanikottai Forest Ranger Murugesan said, “An elephant and its calf’ which were part of the herd had its movement was disrupted by fog and had stationed in a cultivation land. While our team went there, the elephant turned aggressive and charged at our staff. We have increased vigilance and have alerted the surrounding villagers to be cautious.”