Man killed by wild elephant in Gudalur

A 62-year-old man was killed by a wild elephant near O’Valley in the Gudalur forest division on Monday morning.

The deceased, identified as K. Mani, was a retired tea estate worker who had previously been employed in a private tea estate in the area. On Monday morning, when he and another person were walking through the O’Valley region in a private farm to turn on the water supply for a residential line, they were reportedly attacked by a wild elephant. While his friend escaped, Mani was killed by the wild elephant.

Following the incident, local residents demanded that the elephant, alleged to be known to locals in the region as “Radhakrishnan”, be captured. They alleged that the elephant that had killed Mani in an accidental encounter was known to be aggressive and had been responsible for the deaths of other people in the past.

When contacted, Forest Department officials confirmed that the elephant was spotted in the area where Mani had been killed, and that they had also alerted local residents about his presence prior to the incident taking place. They said the elephant had not had any negative interactions with people in over 18 months and believe that the encounter was purely accidental.

The department handed over interim compensation amounting to ₹50,000 to the next of kin of the deceased.

This is the second death caused by a wild elephant in the Nilgiris in the last few days, after a 33-year-old man was killed by an elephant in Kil Kotagiri in the Nilgiris forest division on August 8.

On Monday, the Forest Department released a toll-free number 1800-425-4343 which can be contacted 24x7 by residents from across the Nilgiris to share information about wildlife and to seek solutions to potential negative human-animal interactions.