A herd of elephants damaged branches of 12 mango trees at Amburanpatti near Synagunda in Gudiyatham forest range. The herd, comprising three adult elephants and a calf, entered the village at 3.30 a.m. on Friday and damaged the branches of the trees.
Personnel attached to the Gudiyatham Forest Range along with villagers took measures to drive the elephants into the forest area.
They used fire crackers and beat drums to drive the elephants that later entered the Mordhana Dam area.
A senior official said farmers had cultivated attractive mango varieties very close to the Synagunda reserve forest area. “Elephants are attracted to mangoes, sugarcane and paddy. There are at least 25 elephants that move from the Koundinya sanctuary along this belt. Moving in small groups, the animals raid the crops,” he said.