Government forest officials in India have saved a a 30-year-old female elephant that fell down a deep well and became trapped. In a mammoth 12 hour operation, the team used cranes and slings to pull the animal to safety. The elephant would have surely died had the operation not taken place as escape would have been impossible.
The elephant had strayed from a forest in Tamil Nadu's Dharmapuri district and fell into the well. It is thought that because the well was covered by bushes and vegetation, the elephant simply didn't see it.
Initially, the water was pumped out of the well to allow rescuers better access to the elephant and to allow it to be strapped. However, this became difficult after the elephant became scared and broke the pipes open again. The long operation was eventually a success as the elephant was pulled up by its feet and it is not thought that it has suffered any long-term injuries. Dozens of rescuers were involved in the rescue.
More and more elephants across India are coming into contact with the dangers posed to them by human settlements as a result of elephant habitation loss. There have been several similar incidents of elephants falling down wells reported in the last few years.
Rajkumar, one of those involved in the rescue operation said:
"It was a deep and narrow well. We were informed by locals early on Thursday and were able to retrieve the elephant only late in the night."
"Eventually, we sedated the animal with the help of doctors and used a crane to lift it out of the well. It was found to be healthy and active when we monitored it for three hours after the rescue."
Local government officials in areas where elephants are known to roam are now attempting to remove obstacles and overgrowth around their own wells in order to stop future incidents such as this occurring again. Indian elephants are regarded as being endangered and only around 30,000 are believed to still be living wild in India, a fraction of the number just a few decades ago.
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