Porcupine enters residential area in Coimbatore

Forest Department rushes to capture healthy porcupine in Coimbatore's Sreepathy Nagar, advises residents to report sightings.

Minor tension prevailed at Sreepathy Nagar near Ramanathapuram in Coimbatore on Monday when a porcupine entered the thickly populated area.

According to the Forest Department, an adult porcupine was spotted by residents of Sreepathy Nagar on Nanjundapuram Road on Monday morning. The panicked rodent started running helter-skelter after the residents started chasing it.

After being alerted about the presence of the porcupine around 9 a.m., the Forest Department staff rushed to the spot. Though they attempted to capture the animal for a translocation, it entered an area packed with thorny bushes and disappeared, they said.

The Department said the animal appeared to be healthy and did not have any visible injury or sign of ailment.

The forest staff advised the residents not to drive out the porcupine or catch the animal on their own. The residents were asked to alert the department upon spotting the porcupine again.