Firecrackers hurled at tusker in village near Coimbatore

Forest Department drives tusker back to jungle near Coimbatore village, sparking controversy over use of firecrackers on elephants.

A tusker that entered a village near Coimbatore on Saturday night was driven back to the jungles by the Forest Department staff.

Meanwhile, a video that showed firecrackers being hurled at the wild elephant during the operation has caught the attention of animal lovers, as a 2021 direction from the Madras High Court restrains the use of firecrackers directly on elephants.

According to the Forest Department, a lone tusker entered Nallur Vayal village near Karunya Nagar in Coimbatore district on Saturday. The night patrol team of the Department reached the spot and started driving out the elephant. Residents from the village also joined the drive.

A video of the operation showed two firecrackers (rockets) being hurled at the elephant and bursting in close proximity. The animal later moved out of the place and was driven back to forest in the early hours of Sunday.

Chennai-based animal welfare activist S. Muralidharan said a 2021 direction by the High Court clearly says not to hurl firecrackers directly on elephants.

A wildlife biologist, who did not want to be named, said wild elephants will become conditioned to firecrackers if they are used on a regular basis. The elephant will also lose fear for it as in the case of the tusker seen in the video, said the biologist.

Forest Department staff claimed that they do not hurl firecrackers directly at wild elephants. But in some cases, they accidentally land on the animals as the direction of the rockets changes in accordance with their manoeuvering or when the animals make sudden moves.