Several wild elephant attacks reported in Idukki

Several wild elephant attacks reported in Idukki

Several wild elephant attacks were reported on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning in various parts of the district. According to local people, wild elephant attacks were reported in Sinkukandam and the first tribal panchayat in Edamalakkudy. Tuskers were also seen at Devikulam and Neriamangalam on Wednesday.

According to local people, a wild tusker, locally known as Chakkakompan, attacked a house at Sinkukandam, near Chinnakkanal, around 4 a.m. on Wednesday and the family narrowly escaped. The wall and ceiling of the house of Koonammakkal Manoj Mathew, a resident of Sinkukandam, was destroyed in the attack. CCTV visuals showed the tusker attacking the house.

Devikulam Range Officer P.V. Vegi confirmed that tusker Chakkakompan had attacked the house at Sinkukandam. “Rapid Response Team (RRT) is monitoring the movements of the animal,” he said.

Another wild tusker, locally know as Padayappa, entered a tea plantation estate workers’ Layams (cluster homes), near the factory division, in Devikulam on Tuesday night. A RRT team chased away the tusker to a nearby Eucalyptus plantation.

In another incident, a herd of wild elephantsdestroyed a provision shop of Girijan tribal society at Societykudy in Edamalakkudy on Tuesday evening. According to local people, the herd destroyed the shop around 7.30 p.m. and ate the food items stored inside. The elephants also tried to attack a ration shop, but tribespeople from nearby settlements rushed to the spot and chased away the herd to the forest.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday at Kadukumudy, near Thalayar, a leopard allegedly killed a cow, according to local people. The leopard had killed 5 cows in the area during the past several months, alleged the local people. They demanded the Forest department to take immediate steps to prevent the leopard attack.

A senior forest official said that the department would provide compensation to the owner of the cow. “The Forest department has already distributed compensation to the dairy farmers, whose cows were killed till December 2023. The department will provide compensation to the others soon,” said the official.