Frontline staff of the Forest Department had a narrow escape from a wild elephant that raided crops in farms at Sarkarpathy, near Pollachi, on Saturday.
The elephant charged at the patrol vehicle of the department, video of which was widely circulated on social media.
A. Kasilingam, forest range officer of Pollachi forest range, said that the lone tusker ventured into farms at Sarkarpathy and raided crops.
As the tusker remained in a farm without retracting to forest, frontline staff of the department rushed to the place at 8.30 a.m. and attempted to chase it. As seen in the video, the elephant ran close to the vehicle due to which the driver was forced to reverse it. The elephant hit the bonnet of the vehicle while the staff burst fire cracker and managed to escape.
None of the staff was injured in the incident.
Mr. Kasilingam added that the tusker was not in musth and a team was monitoring its movement.