A man and his eight-year-old daughter escaped with minor injuries after a tusker knocked down their two-wheeler near Kallar in the district on Saturday. The incident took place around 8 a.m. when the man, identified by Forest department officials as Mahesh of the Mottamoodu settlement, was taking his daughter for her tuition class through a narrow forest road.

Sreeju S., Range Forest Officer, Palode Range, said the father and daughter had a narrow escape. “On this road you have the forest on both sides. When the elephant hit the motorcycle, both of them were thrown into a ditch on one side of the road. The elephant then disappeared into the forest,” Mr. Sreeju said.

Mr. Mahesh and his daughter were rushed to the government hospital at Vithura. Their injuries were minor and X-rays revealed no fractures, according to the Forest officials. The Mottamoodu settlement is situated around 2 km inside the forest and is accessible by the narrow road which leads off from the Kallar-Ponmudi main road.

Mr. Sreeju and other Forest department officials visited Mr. Mahesh and his daughter at the hospital. Since the motorcycle sustained damage in the elephant attack, Mr. Mahesh is eligible for compensation. A Rapid Response Team (RRT), the department’s units specialising in handling human-wildlife conflicts, has been stationed in the area where the attack occurred. According to the Forest officials, the tusker and a much younger male elephant are reportedly roaming the nearby forest. The surveillance will be kept up for a week, they said.

Published - July 25, 2026 09:03 pm IST