A herd of wild elephants that strayed into human habitations near Panamaram in Wayanad district on Friday morning triggered panic among the local people.
Forest Department sources said a herd of four tuskers had entered a village at Mechery from Pathiri reserve forest in the South Wayanad forest division.
The herd was sighted inside a private coffee plantation at Mechery around 6.30 a.m. A team of Forest officials led by Chethalayath Forest Range Officer B. Asiff and Mananthavady Forest Range Officer K.V. Biju reached the spot.
The animals then entered some thickly populated areas, including Eranellur, Nelliyambam, Punjavayal, and Mararkadavu, raising anxiety among people. However, the Forest officials managed to scare them away by bursting crackers and beating drums.
The elephants, however, neither raided crops nor caused any damage to property. They did not try to attack anybody on their way to Mararkadavu forest, sources said. After five hours of chase, the team managed to drive the elephants into the Mararkadavu forest, nearly 7 km away from Mechery, South Wayanad Forest Divisional Officer B. Ranjith Kumar said.
As many as 80 members of Forest staff from three forest divisions of South and North Wayanad and Wayanad wildlife sanctuary participated in the operation. North Wayanad Forest Divisional Officer Ramesh Bishnoy and Mr. Ranjith Kumar supervised the operation.
