Elephant movement increases outside villages near Coimbatore, people asked to avoid moving around at night

COIMBATORE: Forest rangers in Sirumugai beat in Coimbatore district have appealed to the public to be alert as elephant movement has increased in Pethikuttai area.
They appealed to people and farmers to try avoiding moving around after dark and to not electrify their fences with power directly from transformers or their residences.

Two days after Sirumugai rangers faced trouble with some villagers who insisted on entering the forests to conduct rituals at a temple deep inside the range, they have issued a public appeal through the media and posters in villages.

The appeal says that due to summer, there has been an increase in the movement of elephants looking for food and water.


“For this reason, we appeal to people and farmers not enter the forests, pass through forests and walk along forest paths either for farming or other purposes. It is a threat to your lives,” said the appeal. “Elephants come close to forest fringes and even outside during dark. So, we request people to be careful and alert of their presence and if possible avoid moving around after dark,” said the statement.

People living along forest fringes have been requested to put up lighting in front and outside their houses and ensure they are switched on after dark.


“If an elephant does enter a patta land, we request the land owner to keep calm and contact the forest department immediately over the phone. Neighbours and passersby can also contact and inform us,” said the notice.


“When we foresters come to the spot and work on chasing the animal back into the forest, we request people to not aggravate the animal by throwing stones and other things at it or distracting it,” it said.

Land owners with electric fencing have been asked to ensure that their fences are only energised with batteries or solar power. “If the batteries are not working or for any other reason, farmers should not electrify the fences by connecting it to their domestic power, power given to their farm lands or directly from any transformer,” said the notice.