The wild elephant entered agricultural fields and villages, local residents said
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
A wild elephant caused panic among residents on the outskirts of Pollachi on Tuesday, when it entered agricultural fields and nearby localities.
Videos depicting the elephant walking along a main road and members of the public running helter-skelter were shared by passers-by on social media platforms.
Local residents are believed to have expressed apprehension to the Forest Department that it was the same ‘makhna’ elephant tranquilized and captured by the Forest Department in Palacode in Dharmapuri district, earlier this month. The crop-raiding elephant was captured by a kumki ‘Chinna Thambi’, in deference to persistent demands from farmers.
Residents fear that the makhna, aged around 20 years, that had been taken to an elephant camp in Topslip at the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) has once more found its way to human habitations.
Forest Department sources said they were monitoring the movement of the elephant, which had reportedly reached Madhukarai during the course of the day. There was no report of the elephant causing any damage to crops or households so far.
However, there is, as yet, no official confirmation that the jumbo is the same as the Palacode makhna.
