COIMBATORE: Nearly three days after entering various suburban areas near Coimbatore and giving forest department staff a tough time, a herd of three wild elephants reached a hillock near Kurunthamalai in the Karamadai forest range on Saturday morning.
The animals had taken shelter in a 54-acre eucalyptus grove at Kakkapalayam near Alampalayam in Annur since early Friday morning, after arriving from Idikarai. They took a ‘U’-turn when forest staff attempted to divert them towards the Periyanaickenpalayam forest.
Earlier, on Thursday morning, the elephants managed to reach a pond behind an IT park in Keeranatham after emerging from the forest near the CRPF camp in Kurudampalayam. Forest department staff were unaware of the elephants’ movement until the animals had strayed far from the forest.
"Our team surrounded the eucalyptus grove to prevent elephants from coming out of it during the day time and the animals came out of it only in the dusk, as we expected. We have started coordination with the TANGEDCO staff, who had disconnected the power supply well in advance to prevent the animals from coming into contact with the low-lying overhead cable. Vehicular movement at Ganeshapuram on the Coimbatore to Sathyamangalam national highway was halted for more than half an hour to facilitate the animal crossing the highway on Friday night at 8.45pm," said a forest ranger.
"We are not chasing away the animals and only facilitating the animals to move on their own by clearing the vehicles and disconnecting the power supply to prevent untoward incidents. The animals are entering into the grove of bushes, Prosopis juliflora, quickly. However, it took more time for us to follow the animals, as we also had to cross these barriers on foot," said one of the staffs involved in the operation.
Police personnel were also involved in regulating the crowd and assisted the forest department. The elephants, after crossing Bettathapuram, Velliangkadu road near Karamadai on the Coimbatore to Mettupalayam highway at 3 am from the Vellamadai surroundings and Ganeshapuram.
"The animals stayed in the hillock, which is reserved land and spread about 500 hectares on Saturday daytime. There were only four km’s for the nearby forest, and we will try to chase away the animals inside the forest on Saturday night," said the official.
Though three elephants were roaming within the human habitations and agricultural land at various places in the suburbs of Coimbatore, they did not cause any major damage.
"Though the animals travelled over 120 km since Wednesday night, there were no injuries to humans and cattle. The animals had only damaged the gate of the companies and the barbed fence along with the rectangular-shaped stone fence since it traversed through the bushy areas,” said the official.
In another incident, Marichamy (47) of Lingapuram, died at Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) after being injured in a wild elephant attack at Lingapuram on Friday. He died on Saturday morning, without responding to treatment.