COIMBATORE: A wild elephant, nicknamed ‘Vettaiyan’, has kept Periyanaickenpalayam forest department staff on their toes after entering residential areas Sunday night. A 49-year-old woman was injured around 9.30 pm after encountering the elephant at RV Nagar near Naickenpalayam, and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
The injured woman, P Parvathy, a construction worker, was taken to the local hospital. She sustained a hip fracture and is said to be out of danger.
According to forest sources, Parvathy was entering her house when the elephant, which had strayed into the area from Naickenpalayam forest, pushed her to the ground.
Forest personnel had already been tracking the animal, which had ventured nearly 2 km from the forest. They alerted residents and advised them to remain indoors.
After the incident, the elephant moved deeper into RV Nagar, causing panic among residents. Forest staff positioned themselves ahead of the animal, regulating traffic and preventing people from approaching it. Its movement was closely monitored as it proceeded towards Palamalai Road.
Later, the elephant reached the vicinity of Ramakrishna College on Coimbatore-Mettupalayam Road on the national highway, forcing traffic to be halted temporarily.
“Except for the injuries sustained by the woman and damage to the entrance gates of a few houses, there was no major property damage. We successfully diverted the elephant back into Naickenpalayam forest by 6 am on Monday,” said K Manoj, Forest Range Officer of Periyanaickenpalayam.
Forest sources said the elephant had been moving around the Thadagam area over the past few weeks before reaching Naickenpalayam a few days ago. Forest personnel are on high alert to prevent further escalation of human-elephant conflict in the area.
Elephant’s leg gets caught in wire, rescued
Coimbatore: Forest department staff, with the assistance of a team of five veterinarians, successfully removed an iron wire that had become tightly entangled around the left front leg of a female elephant in Ooliyur forest area of Sirumugai Forest Range.
The elephant was treated and subsequently released into the forest. The elephant, estimated to be 10 to 13 years old, was found struggling to walk due to the wire around its leg. Forest officials suspect that it may have been caught in the wire around two weeks ago. The veterinary team first tranquilised the elephant.
Around 60 forest department personnel assisted with the operation. “It took us more than two hours to remove the wire. The animal was in severe pain and the leg had swollen considerably,” said a forest official. Forest staff first noticed the elephant on September 2, when it appeared weak during a patrol. The team managed to carry out the treatment on Sunday.