Houses of tribal people and estate workers have been damaged by elephants near Pandalur in the Nilgiris. Photo: Special Arrangement.

Forest department drives away elephants damaging houses in Pandalur

by · The Hindu

Two elephants, are believed to be responsible for having damaged over five houses in the Pandalur forest range. The animals have reportedly been breaking into buildings and raiding kitchens of local residents in search of rice and other food stuffs over the last three weeks in the region.

According to officials, local residents in the region have had lucky escapes in the last few weeks as the two elephants are said to have damaged houses in search of food. One person also suffered minor injuries on Monday (December 16, 2024) when one of the elephants damaged his house, and he fell while escaping from the building.

Divisional Forest Officer (Gudalur), Vengatesh Prabhu, said that the two elephants have shown no signs of aggression towards humans and were not attacking humans. He said that the two elephants had become accustomed to living near human communities, and were damaging houses in search of food stored inside.

The Gudalur forest division has witnessed a recent increase in negative human-animal interactions, with two elephants in Pandalur and Cherambadi damaging forest department vehicles on three separate occasions recently.

In an effort to discourage the elephants from damaging houses in Pandalur, the forest department has formed a team, led by an official of the rank of Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) to patrol the area where the two elephants are said to be utilizing.

The team is using drone cameras for monitoring, surveillance and for driving back the elephants if they enter human habitations, officials stated. The forest department is also considering bringing in kumki elephants from the Theppakadu Elephant Camp in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in order to drive the animals away from human habitations. However, as some of the most reliable kumkis at the camp are said to be in musth, the forest department plans on utilizing their personnel as well as equipment to keep the animals away, officials added.

Published - December 17, 2024 03:48 pm IST