Elephant attacks man, damages forest dept vehicle

Coimbatore: The 40-year-old makhna (tuskless male elephant), which was captured from Dharmapuri district and translocated to the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) in Pollachi recently, strayed into the Coimbatore city limits on Wednesday. The elephant attacked an 80-year-old man, and later damaged a forest department vehicle.
The animal entered Madukkarai forest range around 3am, district forest officer T K Ashok Kumar said. “The elephant was driven towards the forest, but it moved along the farmlands and entered human habitations in Madukkarai taluk. It pushed Palanisamy of Madukkarai, down with its trunk around 7am, near Nayara petrol pump. He sustained injuries on the right hand and was taken to a private hospital. It damaged a department’s vehicle at Pillaiyarpuram around 9am, when our personnel tried to drive it back to the forest,” the official said.
“The elephant had passed through Sokkanur, Valukkuparai, Nachipalayam, Arisipalayam, Palathurai, Kutubapalayam, Anbu Nagar and Pillaiyarpuram to reach Sugunapuram. It is now hiding in bushes along a stream at MGR Nagar, near Sri Krishna College, at Sugunapuram,” he said.
Field staff of the forest department from Madukkarai, Coimbatore, Bolampatti and Periyanayakkanpalayam ranges are monitoring the animal. Forest veterinary officer Dr Sukumar is with the team.
The elephant was captured from Palacode in Dharmapuri forest division on February 5 after it raided crops in the locality from October. It was translocated to Varagaliyar in ATR on February 6.