Marathon rescue effort pulls out adult elephant from 20-feet well
- 7 years ago
Remarkable video of an elephant being rescued from a 20-feet well after a 36-hour long operation in Chattisgarh, India.
The adult female elephant was part of an 18-member herd, which had gone to a village in Surajpur district, to raid crops on the night of November 12.
The villagers woke up from their sleep hearing the noise and managed to chase away the herd by lighting up torches and waiving them at the intruders.
As the scared elephants ran back to the nearby Pratappur forest, one of them fell into a dry well in the darkness.
The villagers heard the cries of the herd, which had surrounded the well, and stood there screaming in distress.
They thought a calf may have fallen into the well as it had happened a few times in the past. One of them managed to flash a light into the well and was astonished to see an adult female elephant inside.
The villagers alerted the local forest officials who rushed to the spot and started the rescue operation on November 13 morning, by which time the herd had retreated to the forest. They brought in two excavators and dug a path to the well. But the elephant, which was injured in a front leg, was unable to climb up.
They then brought in two cranes and hauled up the elephant after tranquilising it. They wrapped a lifting sling around the stomach of the behemoth and harnessed it to the cranes, which lifted the elephant and placed it on a truck.
Forest officials said the animal would be treated for injuries and then sent back to the forest later.
Throughout the rescue effort, the officials kept the animal hydrated and fed it paddy and jaggery.
The adult female elephant was part of an 18-member herd, which had gone to a village in Surajpur district, to raid crops on the night of November 12.
The villagers woke up from their sleep hearing the noise and managed to chase away the herd by lighting up torches and waiving them at the intruders.
As the scared elephants ran back to the nearby Pratappur forest, one of them fell into a dry well in the darkness.
The villagers heard the cries of the herd, which had surrounded the well, and stood there screaming in distress.
They thought a calf may have fallen into the well as it had happened a few times in the past. One of them managed to flash a light into the well and was astonished to see an adult female elephant inside.
The villagers alerted the local forest officials who rushed to the spot and started the rescue operation on November 13 morning, by which time the herd had retreated to the forest. They brought in two excavators and dug a path to the well. But the elephant, which was injured in a front leg, was unable to climb up.
They then brought in two cranes and hauled up the elephant after tranquilising it. They wrapped a lifting sling around the stomach of the behemoth and harnessed it to the cranes, which lifted the elephant and placed it on a truck.
Forest officials said the animal would be treated for injuries and then sent back to the forest later.
Throughout the rescue effort, the officials kept the animal hydrated and fed it paddy and jaggery.