A herd of elephants, two adults and two calves, damaged standing cholam crops and plantain trees in villages near Kolathur bordering Karnataka in the last four days.
The animals are believed to have come from the Kolthur reserve forests, which is said to be their natural habitat, on Wednesday evening.
The herd damaged the standing crops in the field of Solai Goundar in Yezharai Mathikadu village. Later, they damaged the plantain trees in the farm belonging to one Durai in Kumbarapatti village.
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The presence of the elephants created panic among residents of Kumbarapatti, Yezharai Mathikadu, Alamarathupatti and surrounding villages.
On information from local people, a team of forest personnel led by Shanmugam, Forest Range Officer, Mettur, rushed to the village and drove the animals into the reserve forests by bursting firecrackers.