A close encounter with wild elephants near Coonoor

D. RADHAKRISHNAN
Two wild elephants roaming close to the Coonoor-Marappalam stretch of the Metupalayam-Ooty National Highway for the past fortnight created a flutter at the Runneymede Station of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) on Thursday.

Railway sources told The Hindu that when the Mettupalayam-Ooty steam engine-hauled mountain train, with about 200 passengers including foreign tourists and students, stopped at Runneymede for filling water, the animals were spotted nearby. Unable to resist the photo opportunity and eager to get a closer look, many of them got out of the train. However, this angered the elephants which had started chasing the tourists.

Taken aback by the turn of events, the passengers and the railway staff ran helter-skelter. With the passengers bundling into the coaches the train hurriedly left the station. While they expressed the hope that the animals would be driven back to the forests before anything unfortunate happened, forest officials sought the cooperation of the people in dealing with the situation.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/a-close-encounter-with-wild-elephants-near-coonoor/article4486983.ece