COIMBATORE: A makhna elephant that was captured from Palacode in Dharmapuri district and released in Varagaliyar near Topslip on February 6 entered residential areas in Pollachi in the wee hours on Tuesday, putting around 75 forest department staff on alert.
As per sources, the animal entered Nallur from Sethumadai reserve forest where it stayed for a few days after it came out of Varagaliyar. It then crossed Pollachi- Palakkad NH in the wee hours on Tuesday.
After travelling for more than 30 km through Sethumadai Naluthukuli, KK Pudur, Athulollachi, Puravipalayam, the elephant reached Govindanur around 2.30 pm and took a nap under a tree. After a while, it started moving towards Madukkarai.
Forest department staff burst crackers and played drums, but the animal stayed on course. It entered a farmland at Puravipalayam and took a dip in a pond. It, however, did not cause damages to crops or property, officers said. A large number of people gathered in the village to see the animal and the forest staff were unable to control the crowd.
A team led by deputy director of Anamalai tiger reserve (ATR) K Bhargava Teja and assistant conservator of forest (ACF) V Selvam are monitoring the animal using a drone-mounted camera. Bhargava Teja told TNIE that they would try to divert the animal into Kerala or Madukkarai forest range which is 15 km from the spot where the elephant is. The elephant had damaged a few coconut trees and compensation would be given to farmers soon, he said. The official added that the animal remains calm and there are no plans to capture it for now.
This is the second incident where a relocated wild elephant came back into the residential area. In 2019, Chinnathambi travelled more than 100 km and entered into the sugarcane fields at Kannadipudur from Varagaliyar. Based on the High Court order, the animal was captured again and converted into a kumki. Chinnathambi was engaged in the operations to capture the makhna.