A female elephant, aged between seven and 10, that bit a country bomb near Govanur near Periyanaickenpalayam in Coimbatore, is in a serious condition here.

The incident occurred on the same day after Forest Department personnel arrested four persons for hunting wild boars using country bombs in the area.

According to a senior Forest Department official, they received information about an elephant roaming in the area with injuries in its mouth. “The animal had a swollen face. It could be due to an injury caused by a country bomb,” he said.

District Forest Officer S. Ramasubramaniam, along with Veterinarian Dr. N.S. Manoharan, rushed to the spot where the elephant was seen last.

Talking to Covai Post, Dr. Manoharan said that the elephant had suffered serious injuries in the lower jaw making it difficult for the animal to consume food or water. “We have not seen the animal. But going by eye witness accounts, we believe that it is in a serious condition. We have mixed medicine in banana and water and kept it in the spot where it comes almost daily,” he said.

Meanwhile, Forest Department personnel have arrested four persons Rangaraj, Gurusamy, Kumar and Muthukumar near Palamalai in Periyanaickenpalayam for reportedly killing a wild boar with a country bomb. They have also retrieved the carcass of a boar along with six country bombs.

Though people raised doubts that the men were responsible for the injury caused to the female elephant, Forest Department officials have ruled out the possibilities as the instances happened in different locations.