Elephant calf falls into well in India, rescued successfully by flattening the well.

Story by Sumesh Rajan

Mumbai: March 9, 2018

Elephant calf falls into well in India, rescued successfully by flattening the well.

A one-and-a-half-year-old wild elephant calf accidentally fell into a 10 feet deep well on March 7 night at a village in the south Indian state of Kerala and was successfully rescued by the forest department officials.

Around 8 pm, residents of Koovapara village in Kothamangalam circle of Ernakulam district heard the agitated trumpets of wild elephants and assumed something tragic had taken place. While investigating the reason, they found that a baby elephant had fallen into the private well of Thopakuri Moheedin and was struggling to clamber out.

The villagers then informed the forest department officials who rushed to the site.

“The calf was part of a herd of wild elephants moving from one part of Pooyamkutty forest to another when it accidentally fell into the private well located in the village close to the forest. We brought in a JCB earthmover and flattened the wall of the well paving a path for the calf to successfully climb out and join its herd which was standing vigil in the forest nearby,” said Kuttampuzha Forest Range Officer S Rajan who was part of the rescue operation.

In the video footage taken by a villager, the baby elephant can be initially seen struggling in knee-deep water inside the well, and later make a rush to the forest after the well’s wall were broken at around 3 am on March 8.