Man sleeping in hut trampled to death by wild elephant in Erode
According to the forest department, Kanagaraj from Dhooram Mokkai, who ekes out a living by fishing and grazing cattle
Representative Image
COIMBATORE: A 44-year-old man, who was sleeping inside a hut in Erode, was trampled to death by a wild elephant on Tuesday night.
According to the forest department, Kanagaraj from Dhooram Mokkai, who ekes out a living by fishing and grazing cattle, met with his tragic end by a wild elephant that ventured out of Bhavani Sagar forest area and entered Dhooram Mokkai locality past midnight.
It rampaged the hut in search of food. As Kanagaraj woke up terrorized, the elephant trampled him before retreating into the forest.
On hearing the loud cries, his elderly parents residing in another hut nearby, came out and rushed Kanagaraj to Sathyamangalam Government Hospital by a private ambulance. Despite treatment, Kanagaraj succumbed to injuries.
The forest department staff from Bhavani Sagar Range mounted a vigil to prevent further intrusion of the wild elephant, while the police have also registered a case and an inquiry is underway.
In another wildlife related incident, a tusker was found dead in a pool of water on Dasampalayam foothills on Wednesday. A team of frontline staff led by Mettupalayam Forest Ranger Joseph Stalin were on routine patrol in Nellimalai forest area, when they noticed an elephant dead and floating in the water.
Soon, a team of wildlife veterinarians arrived and conducted a post mortem.
“The exact reason for the death of the animal will be known only based on a post mortem report,” said an official.
Tusker found dead in pool of water
Meanwhile, in another wildlife-related incident, a tusker was found dead in a pool of water on Dasampalayam foothills on Wednesday.
A team of frontline staff led by Mettupalayam Forest Ranger Joseph Stalin were on routine patrol in the Nellimalai forest area, when they noticed an elephant dead and floating in the water.
Soon, a team of veterinarians arrived and conducted a post-mortem. “The exact reason for the death of an animal will be known only based on a post-mortem report,” said an official.
