Lone tusker strays into farm in Coimbatore, damages crops

The elephant has been camping in the locality over the last two weeks. Villagers claimed that the jumbo comes down a hillock from the forest area to raid plantain crops and trees during night hours and retreats, when the day sets in.

On Monday night, the elephant entered a farm, owned by Arusamy, and damaged as many as 50 plantain crops and uprooted four coconut trees. The elephant had stayed in the farm all through the night.

On Tuesday morning, the farm labourers noticed the jumbo and informed the Forest Department, who rushed to the spot and chased it away by firing crackers. Following demands from villagers, the Forest Department increased vigil in the locality to prevent the elephant from straying out of the forest cover.

Meanwhile, in another poignant incident, a calf elephant has been visiting Navamalai area in Aliyar near Pollachi in search of its dead mother jumbo. Three months ago, a female jumbo, which used to frequent Navamalai with its calf, had died of some illness. Since then, the calf jumbo is visiting the place daily apparently to grieve over the loss of its mother.