Elephants uproot coconut tree and carry it away, lone tusker chases schoolchildren

By Sumesh Rajan | August 12, 2026

Erode, Tamil Nadu, INDIA: A series of wild elephant encounters in Karnataka has sparked concern among villagers, with a herd uprooting a coconut tree at a plantation near the Tamil Nadu border and, two days later, a lone elephant chasing schoolchildren waiting for a bus in Chikkamagaluru district.

In the first incident, a herd of wild elephants entered a plantation at Neithalapuram village in Sathyamangalam taluka of Erode district in tamil Nadu along the border with Karnataka on August 9 and uprooted an entire coconut tree before carrying it away.

The unusual incident was captured by a CCTV camera installed at a bungalow inside the plantation. The footage reportedly showed the elephants pulling the tree out along with its roots and moving away with it.

The incident has raised concerns among residents and plantation owners over possible damage to crops and property as elephant herds continue to move through the border region.

Forest Department officials subsequently visited the area and began monitoring the movement of the herd in an effort to prevent further damage and ensure the safety of residents.

Lone elephant chases schoolchildren

In a separate incident on the morning of August 11, a lone wild elephant allegedly chased a group of schoolchildren at Siddanakodige Colony, under Gubbiga Gram Panchayat in Narasimharajapura taluk of Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka.

Six students from Siddanakodige Colony were waiting on the main road for their school bus to travel to schools at B H Kaimara and Moodabagilu when the elephant suddenly appeared and charged towards them.

Terrified, the children dropped their school bags and ran towards nearby houses for safety. The elephant reportedly followed them for some distance before moving towards a nearby acacia plantation.

Villagers rushed to the spot after learning about the incident, but the elephant had disappeared by then. Its footprints, however, were reportedly found in the area.

According to villagers, a lone elephant has been roaming through Aralikoppa, Vagade, Sankse and Gubbiga villages for the past six months, frequently entering agricultural areas. It has allegedly damaged arecanut, banana and coconut trees and destroyed paddy fields.

Forest Department personnel and elephant task force teams have made several attempts to drive the animal back into the forest, including by bursting firecrackers. However, villagers said the elephant has repeatedly returned to inhabited areas.

Villagers stage protest

Following the incident involving the schoolchildren, hundreds of villagers gathered outside the Chikkagrahara Range Forest Officer's office and staged a protest, demanding immediate measures to prevent elephants from entering residential and agricultural areas.

Farmer leader M N Nagesh claimed that three lone elephants were currently roaming across the four villages and said residents had repeatedly sought intervention from the Forest Department.

“The Forest Department must take immediate steps to prevent wild elephants from straying into the villages. We had approached the department during the summer and requested that the lone elephant be relocated from the Bhadra backwaters. The department had assured us that it would be shifted, but the assurance has not been fulfilled,” Nagesh said.

The back-to-back incidents have intensified concerns over human-elephant conflict in the region, particularly among farmers and families whose children travel through areas frequented by wild elephants. Residents have urged the Forest Department to take effective measures to track the animals and prevent further encounters in populated areas.