Night patrols intensified to drive out wild elephants in Coimbatore Forest Division

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

The Forest Department has stepped up night patrols in the Coimbatore Forest Division to drive out wild elephants that enter agricultural fields bordering reserve forest areas. According to District Forest Officer N. Vengatesh Prabhu, the department increased the number of boundary night patrol teams from 16 to 18 for all the seven forest ranges in the division.

Frontline staff from the seven ranges of Madukkarai, Boluvampatti, Coimbatore, Periyanaickenpalayam, Karamdai, Mettupalayam and Sirumugai are engaged in the exercise.

Additionally, the department has deputed three special teams to monitor the movement of a wild tusker nicknamed ‘Vettaiyan’, which has been frequenting Nanjundapuram, Varapalayam and Thiruvalluvar Nagar near Thadagam. The tusker reportedly ate cattle rice, cooked food and cattle feed from some of the houses and caused damages to properties. The elephant is also moving to parts of the Periyanaickenpalayam forest range, said sources with the frontline staff.

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.