Wayanad: A farmer had a narrow escape from a charging wild elephant at Sulthan Bathery in the early hours of Friday. The jumbo also destroyed parts of his house. The incident occurred while the district is witnessing protests against the forest department over the death of Arumughan in an elephant attack at Erumakolly near Meppadi on Thursday night.

The farmer, Benny Malayakulangara, came out of his house after the elephant began wreaking havoc on his farm shortly after midnight on Thursday. Although Benny made several attempts to drive the animal away, they were unsuccessful. At one point, the elephant charged at him. When Benny sought refuge in his house, the animal attempted to destroy part of the structure.

Benny told Onmanorama that he came out after hearing the sounds of destruction on his farm for over an hour. “This time, the animal was more aggressive and came dangerously close to the house,” he said.

“When I tried to scare it away, instead of retreating, the furious animal charged at me. I had a narrow escape,” he added. The incident took place around 2:30 a.m., according to Benny.

Named Muttikkomban, the elephant is a single-tusker known for destroying crops in the region for nearly a decade, said Mathayi, another farmer from Valluvadi. 

“The tusker was clearly targeting him. He was lucky to escape this time, but luck may not favour him again,” he warned.

However, forest officials stated that they had resolved the issue for the time being. “We have assured him of full compensation and promised to take measures to prevent the elephant from entering farmlands again. We are doing our best, but since it's jackfruit season, it's not easy to keep wild elephants away,” said an official.