A herd of wild elephants damaged over 200 banana plants but left a tree with a sparrow’s nest -- with hatchlings in it -- untouched.
A farmer had cultivated banana on land belonging to the Public Works Department (PWD) in the Vilamundi Forest Range of Sathyamangalam Division. On May 8, five wild elephants entered the plantation and destroyed the crop completely. The farmer alerted Forest Department officials who inspected the field. They found over 200 banana plants damaged. One banana plant however, was only half damaged, and when examined, had a sparrow’s nest with four hatchlings inside.
After inspecting the plantation, Forest officials said the herd had raided the crops during the night hours and possibly left the one tree undamaged after hearing the sound of the hatchlings. “These hatchlings make loud sounds and the elephants may have left the tree without damaging it completely,” an officer said.
After the video went viral, many villagers visited the field to check out the bird’s nest.
