Tusker Vinayagan ‘back to old ways’, raids hamlets in Nilgiris
Wild tusker Vinayagan captured in Coimbatore and released into the forests in The Nilgiris two years ago has returned to its old ways of damaging houses in search of food in tribal settlements on the hills.
Coimbatore
The elephant has been frequenting tribal settlements located near Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) to raid on essentials stocked up by the people. On Monday night, the tusker intruded into Melambalam tribal village and damaged a couple of houses in search of food.
The villagers claimed that the elephant, which has been habituated to raid crops and damage houses, has been straying into their locality over the last one month triggering panic.
The elephant was caught in Chinnathadagam in Coimbatore Forest Division and released into the MTR after fixing a radio collar to monitor its movements. As efforts to drive it back into the deep forest did not yield any positive outcome, the Forest Department has deployed kumkis to prevent the tusker from venturing out of the forest. The Forest Department has also stepped up vigil to prevent any untoward incidents.
Rain hampers efforts to nab tiger
COIMBATORE: Intermittent rains hampered efforts by the Forest Department to capture the tiger in Gudalur in The Nilgiris.The tiger remained evasive for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday. The tiger was spotted hiding in a thicket near a private estate on Monday. When the department staff tried to approach the carnivore to tranquilise and capture, the animal gave a slip. Therefore, a 10-member Special Task Force with expertise in such capturing operations were roped in from Wayanad in neighbouring Kerala to trap the animal along with the assistance of the Forest Department.
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