With at least six wild elephants creating panic in villages along forest boundary in Periyanaickenpalayam range on Wednesday, Forest Department on Thursday sought the help of a kumki to handle the conflict situation. Kumki Sujay from Chadivayal elephant camp was brought to the conflict zone.
Forest officials said that Sujay was stationed at Poochiyur near the CRPF training college campus. The kumki was stationed at the spot where elephants frequently cross the boundary of Thadagam Reserve Forest. On Thursday, there was no instance of elephants straying from the forest,” said District Forest Officer N. Satheesh.
On Wednesday, an elderly woman was killed after charged by a wild elephant while it was being driven back to forest from Samichettipalayam. Another woman was injured in the incident. Mr. Satheesh said that three teams of anti-poaching watchers and anti-depredation squad were deployed at Sengalipalayam and Poochiyur area for surveillance.
Forest officials have urged people residing along the boundaries of the seven forest ranges to be cautious between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. as chances of elephant movement is high during the annual migration season. Kumkis are often used to drive problem-creating elephants into the reserve forest.
In Gudalur, the forest officials using two kumkis from the Theppakadu elephant camp in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve drove a lone male tusker, that was damaging crops and buildings in Gudalur, into a reserve forest and away from human settlements on Thursday.
P.K. Dileep, District Forest Officer, Gudalur Division, said that the tusker had been roaming in the ET Moola area for the last three months.
He said that it had been drawn to the location because of the banana plantations in the area, which it had been raiding at night for food as well. “A few weeks back, it also damaged a house and we had to drive it into the forest,” he added.
Forest officials said that the animal had become accustomed to people and was not even showing signs of fear when fire crackers were used in an attempt to frighten him. After deliberating with field staff and locals, the Gudalur Forest Division sought the permission of the Chief Wildlife Warden to use kumkis from the Theppakadu elephant camp to chase the tusker into the forest.
On Thursday, two kumkis, Vijay and Wasim, along with their mahouts, were dispatched to the Gudalur division to undertake the operation to chase the tusker into a reserve forest. The two kumkis found the animal and completed the task, and the tusker is believed to have gone deep into the reserve forest. He said that the kumkis and the mahouts will be stationed in Gudalur for the next two days in case the tusker returns.
