Forest Department’s special highway patrol team drives away elephants to prevent interceptions of sugarcane-laden lorries

In recent weeks, the events of the wild elephants that make sugar -loaded trucks in Sathyamandalam Tiger Reserve (Str) and the Hasanur Forest range of the Hasanur Department used a special highway team to take Pachyderms back to the forest.

The 27 km stretch of the National Highway (NH 948) of the Dindigul-Mysuru passes the reserve between Bannari and Karapallam Forest Control Pole. The sugar cane grown in the Chamarajanagar region of Thavadi and Karnataka is carried to a private sugar factory in Sathyamalam by daily trucks. Since the harvest season began last month, the interventions of the elephants became frequent.

Drivers, elephants blocked the highways, open target covers shed tears, and the sugar cane bundles before pulling the forest, he said. A driver from Thavadi was forced to stop when a elephant stood on the road. “A group of canes took it and disappeared into the forest,” he said.

A forest department officer in Str said an average of 1,200 to 1,300 vehicles passing through the Karapallam control pole, including 650 to 700 trucks. Approximately 60 to 70 out of the 150 to 170 trucks carrying daily sugar cane come from Thalavadi, the rest from Karnataka. The officer said herds that last more than 15, including a Tuskless male (Makhna), were seen with a habit along the highway. Karapallam-Hasanur 7-Km Ghat section is seen in another group of six elephants and a group between the state border in Punajanur in Karnataka, a trilateral group near Bannari.

Most events take place between 15:00 and 17:00 shortly after starting a journey of trucks loaded with cane. The forest department required drivers to cover loads with tarpaulin, which has been in force since October 2024. In addition, trucks from Thalavadi were sprayed with an environmentally friendly compound formulated to camouflage the smell of sugar cane.

However, the authorities admitted that elephants were rapidly adapted and measures were only marginal effects. “Although we chase them, they reappear at another point on the highway,” the officer said, he added that animals limited the raids with sugar cane and did not endanger people.

Viral videos attract tourists

The officer also said that the private sugar factory is sure that the harvest in the region will result in 10 days, which could bring temporary relief to passengers and truck operators. Meanwhile, the videos of the elephants capturing trucks became viral on social media and attracted tourists to Hasanur. Authorities warned that such visits increase the risk of human -animal conflict.