A wild elephant damaged a house near Thondamuthur in Coimbatore district late on Thursday.

Forest Department sources said that a lone tusker entered the farm of Rajappan at Kempanur village near Thondamuthur around 10.20 p.m.

The elephant damaged several coconut trees and broke open the door of an old house, where feeds for the livestock were kept.

According to the department, the tusker consumed about two bundles of oil cake and two bundles of bran kept for cows. It also damaged solar fencing wires that had been installed around the farmland.

Upon receiving information, the Boundary Night Patrolling Team of the department rushed to the spot and drove the elephant back into the reserve forest, located around 2 km away.

Sources from the village said that the family of the farm owner lives in another house in the compound. Farm workers were staying in an accommodation adjacent to the old house that was damaged by the elephant.

Meanwhile, farmers from the locality alleged that a wild elephant visited the same farm compound 10 days ago and damaged a shed. They also alleged that the Forest Department teams were chasing elephants from one farm to another instead of driving them completely back into forest.