Jaunting out of Siruvani forests, two tuskers walked close to human habitation without disturbing a single resident, and took a cool bath in a tank at Semmedu village on the city's outskirts.
As the tank was located in the middle of villages, Forest Department staff were on their toes from Tuesday morning. After keeping them tense for hours however, the elephants sauntered back into the forests in the afternoon.
Forest officials said the elephants entered the tank, Muttathuvayal, around two km away from the reserve forest areas of Boluvampatti forest range of Coimbatore Forest Division, early on Tuesday.
After taking a bath in the tank, the tuskers moved to one of the islands inside the tank with lush vegetation and simply relaxed. Though rumours spread that the elephants were trapped in the waterbody, District Forest Officer D. Venkatesh said that the tank bed was not too muddy for the jumbos to get trapped.
Though the frontline staff of the Forest Department tried to prevent the two elephants from venturing into human habitation late on Monday, the animals managed to came out through a tribal settlement, Dhanikandi early on Tuesday.
The tuskers ventured straight into the tank before the frontline workers reached the spot, after being alerted by the villagers. Additional staff from two more Coimbatore and Madukkarai forest ranges were also deployed at the location to monitor the elephants. A drone was also kept ready for monitoring.
Senior officials including the DFO and Forest Veterinary Officer of Coimbatore Forest Division camped at the location to ensure the safety of the tuskers and humans.
As the tank is situated around two km off the nearest reserve forest and surrounded by farms and houses, the Forest staff waited patiently for the elephants to return to the forests.
“To our joy, the tuskers came out from the island and walked off the tank around 12.30 p.m. and went back into the Boluvampatti reserve forest area,” said Mr. Venkatesh.