An 84-year-old man died in an accidental encounter with an elephant when he ventured out of his house in the wee hours on May 24, 2024.
The deceased was identified as Palaniyandi, a resident of Devala in Pandalur forest range in Gudalur division. On Friday morning, Mr. Palaniyandi had ventured out of his house to relieve himself when he was attacked by a lone elephant that had strayed near the human settlement in search of food.
Divisional Forest Officer (Gudalur Division), Vengatesh Prabhu, said that the area surrounding Mr. Palaniyandi’s house had many fruit-bearing jackfruit trees which drew the elephant near the human settlement.
Mr. Prabhu said that a total of 12 forest teams are conducting regular patrols across the division every day to notify people about the movement of elephants. However, this lone male elephant had managed to avert the department staff’s vigil and had ventured into the village, where the accidental confrontation occurred.
Following the incident, ₹10 lakhs in compensation was awarded to the next of kin of Mr. Palaniyandi. The Divisional Forest Officer said that the forest department had learned through experience that fruiting jackfruit trees located near human settlements were drawing elephants from the forests and into settlements. “We have also noted that due to their abundance, that the jackfruit trees are neither being used commercially by residents, nor for their consumption,” he said.
As a result, the forest department has requested the district administration to approve the lopping of the fruits from the trees located near human settlements in order to bring down the chances of negative human-elephant interactions in the region.
