In the wake of a lone wild elephant killing two women and two cattle near Thally here on Sunday, a joint forest patrol comprised of forest personnel from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka is currently underway along the interstate forest boundary.
Dedicated forest teams have been formed to comb the areas where the elephant was sighted, simultaneously alert the public, and create safety awareness to avert negative human-animal interactions. According to K. Karthikeyani, Assistant Conservator of Forests, Hosur Forest Division, the joint forest patrol comprising 25 forest personnel each from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka aims not as much to track the lone elephant but to guide the movement of the herd or any elephant of the herd back to the forests and to prevent any further casualties.
“There was no direct sighting of that elephant since, but indirect signs like footmarks of other single elephants were found,” Ms. Karthikeyani said. Since the elephants are already along the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka forest boundary, the patrol would guide the elephants back to the forests.
The joint patrol is also making announcements of the safety advisory. The lone elephant that wreaked fear on Sunday was part of a migratory herd of 200 elephants that had crossed into Tamil Nadu earlier.
