A couple narrowly escaped a potentially dangerous encounter with a wild elephant that wandered into a residential area in southern India’s Tamil Nadu.

The incident took place at the foothills of the IOB colony in Marudhamalai in Coimbatore on June 22.

Visuals showed around 9:40 PM a tusker entered into a Colony, where resident Sivakumar heard a noise outside and stepped out to investigate. He was startled to see the elephant at close range, which then charged towards him. Sivakumar managed to run back into the house, alerting his wife, who was on the car porch.

Both managed to get inside just as the elephant trumpeted and attempted to open the main gate with its trunk. Fortunately, the gate accidentally closed, thwarting the elephant’s attempt to enter.

The tusker eventually abandoned its effort to break through the gate and slowly moved away. It later entered the Bharathiar University premises, where it was eventually chased back into the reserve forest by the frontline staff of the Coimbatore forest range.

Forest officer remarks highlighted the importance of vigilance in areas bordering wildlife habitats, urging residents to be cautious and report such sightings immediately to forest authorities.