A lone wild elephant entered human habitats at Appad, Society Kavala, Kolery and Choothupara near Meenangadi, in Wayanad district on Monday morning triggering panic among local residents.

The elephant attacked two persons on its way and they were admitted to various hospitals with injuries.

The Forest Department officials identified the injured as A. Karunakaran,75, of Mundiyaniyil at Society Kavala and K. P. Raman, 76, of Palattil at Kealamangalam near Kenichira.

The pachyderm was sighted inside a private coffee plantation at Appad around 6 a.m. on Monday. Forest Department sources said the lone tusker had entered the village from the Kolery section of the forest in the South Wayanad forest division, around 4 kilometres away from the village.

On receiving information, a team of forest officials, including the members of the Rapid Response Team of the Department, led by Chethalayath forest range officer K. P. Samad rushed to the spot. When the animal entered some thickly populated areas, it raised anxiety among people. Meanwhile, the tusker attacked the duo on its way. The elephant, however, did not raid crops. No destruction of property was also reported.

After five hours of following the elephant, the team managed to drive away the elephant into Neykuppa reserve forest under the Chethalayath forest range, nearly 14 kilometres away from Appad.

As many as 25 front-line forest staff members took part in the operation, supervised by South Wayanad forest divisional officer A. Sajna. A ten-member team has been deployed for patrolling in the area and they will work in two shifts, Ms. Sajna said.