Udhagamandalam: The Ministry of Forestry has formed a special team consisting of 18 staff members to patrol at night in Pandalur and the Range of Nadugani forests, where male-elephant conflicts have increased.
In early Tuesday, a elephant had ruined a house in the Hamlet Tribal Puliiparai near the gudalur and injured two residents.
The villagers then demanded the forestry department to establish an electric fence around the hamlet or establish a ditch to maintain their nature of an elephant attack.
In the past four years, 18 elephant attacks were reported in the range of Nadugani and Pandalur, which was home to several tribal hamlets.
Prasad Ganeshan, Forest Officer, said two elephants – meaning (men without ivory) and pregnant women – roam in tribal hamlets.
“Both have damaged several houses in recent months.” According to him, elephants explored the tribal hamlet in the early hours of taking food from the population kitchen.
“As per the demand for villagers, we have formed a special team to patrol their hamlets based on shifts.” The Ministry of Forestry has, in the meantime, was written to a higher authority that was looking for permission to translate both elephants.
It also appears with a new method to pursue wild elephants to the forest.
“We will use a light gun on the basis of experiments to pursue elephants from tribal hamlets.
This will produce a lightening effect with a voice,” said Prasad Ganeshan.
If it works, he said, it will be used in the future to expel the elephant from human habitat.
“We don’t want to disturb wild elephants, while looking after human life.”
Forest Dept formed a special team to curb human-elephant conflict
