Palakkad: A day after a five-member forest patrol team was dramatically rescued from Pudur in Attappady, the region witnessed a tragedy on Saturday when a Forest Department officer was killed in a sudden wild elephant attack during a tiger census operation.

The victim, Kalimuthu, a Forest Beat Assistant attached to the Pudur range, was part of a census team conducting field tracking in the dense terrain of Mulli forest under the Mannarkkad division.

The incident occurred during an early-morning survey when a lone wild elephant reportedly charged at the team without warning.

According to preliminary information, Kalimuthu and another officer were traversing a narrow forest path to inspect fresh pugmarks when they sensed the elephant nearby.

As the animal broke through the thickets and

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