Gudalur: Traffic came to a standstill here on Sunday night as vehicles pulled over to the roadside when a wild tusker strode through the main road of the town. Motorists, unaware of the danger, initially mistook it for a captive elephant and stopped to watch. Their curiosity quickly turned to fear when they were warned that it was a wild tusker. The incident occurred around 8.15 PM when the elephant entered the town from near Taj Hospital.

The tusker walked nearly 2 km amid heavy traffic. When it found itself short of space, it kicked and toppled a car and an autorickshaw parked by the roadside.

The rear side of the car and the front of the auto were badly damaged. After this, the tusker moved into a coffee plantation next to the municipal office, passing the Shasthapuri Hotel on its way.

Yesterday morning, the tusker returned for another round of ‘morning walk.’ It trudged with difficulty along a narrow residential lane before making its way into a nearby plantation. The forest department, however, has remained unaware of the tusker’s movements on both occasions.

In recent weeks, Gudalur has been witnessing frequent intrusions by wild tuskers, leaving the town on edge. The fear of encountering one has forced many residents to give up their morning walks. Several people had a close brush with danger when the tusker entered the town yesterday.