Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 12 (IANS): An estate canteen supervisor at Panniyar in the Idukki district of Kerala escaped by a whisker from the attack of a wild elephant late night on Saturday.

The wild elephant nicknamed 'Arikomban' by the forest department has the habit of intruding into the Santhanpara and adjacent areas of Idukki district, damaging shops especially ration shops and eating rice. Rice in Malayalam is 'Ari' and hence the animal is nicknamed 'Ari Komban'.

Forest officials told IANS that the supervisor of the Panniyar estate canteen in Idukki was sleeping in the canteen when the elephant broke open the canteen door in search of food. On seeing the animal, Edwin ran away from the spot but the elephant followed him.

Edwin, according to forest officials, ran for his life and entered into a small lane through which the elephant could not enter and thus escaped from the wild tusker.

The ration shops in the Panniyar and Santhanpara areas were electrically fenced of late following the regular attack of the wild Arikomban.

As the ration shops were electrically fenced, the elephant tried to enter the labour canteen in search of rice and found Edwin.

The Kerala Forest department has already constituted a task force led by Dr. Arun Zakariah to dart the elephant and rehabilitate it following protests by farmers and shopkeepers regarding the frequent attacks from the elephant.