Elephant herd damages a portion of building in Valparai tea estate

“The herd of at least four elephants had broken away a part of the building while looking for eatables. As they found nothing inside, the elephants then retreated into the forest cover. They had camped in the estate for about two hours,” said an official. Meanwhile the Forest Department in Coimbatore has formed three teams named Alpha, Beta and Gamma to keep a watch on the forest boundaries, particularly during night hours and prevent straying of the wild elephants. Each team has been earmarked with different ranges in the Coimbatore forest division to control elephant movement.