Two anti-poaching watchers were attacked by an elephant when they tried to drive it away in Kuniyamuthur in the city last night.

A six-member team from the forest department was in the place after complaints of an elephant from Madukkarai forests straying into human habitat around 10 pm.

Police said the team used crackers to scare the pachyderm, which ran towards the Palakkad Highway via B K Pudur in Kuniyauthur, disrupting traffic for a while.

The around 25-year old elephant turned towards the team and attacked Vijayakumar and Karthikeyan who were given first aid at the government hospital and later admitted to a private hospital.

While Vijayakumar was discharged this afternoon, Karthikeyan sustained multiple injuries on his right shoulder and rib, and may take two months for full recovery, forest officials said.

The elephant attacked a local last week and a special team was set up to monitor its movements.