A one-and-a-half-year-old elephant calf that fell into an open well in Ulipenda Reserve Forest in Cauvery North Sanctuary near Hosur in Krishnagiri district was rescued by the Forest Department personnel on Friday.
The department officials said that the male calf was rescued in less than two hours after it was spotted by them.
Assistant Conservator of Forests of Hosur Division, S. Anand, told The Hindu over phone that the well, known as ‘Guard Well’, was dug by the department many years ago to manually fetch water from it and fill a tank nearby for the wild animals to drink from it.
“It is learnt that the calf and its mother came to drink water from the 10-foot-deep well when the calf accidentally fell into it. The mother tried to rescue it from the well (with water for close to five feet) but in vain as the calf was beyond the reach of its trunk,” he said.
He added that the Anti-Poaching Team heard the unusual cries of the animal around 7 a.m. “But the members could not go near the well as the mother chased them away. They informed the department personnel who went to the spot and began the rescue operation by chasing away the mother.”
Mr. Anand said that the mother was watching them from a distance. “A ramp was created using an earth mover through which it was pulled out by the personnel with the help of villagers of Miliphikki. As the calf was not injured, it joined its mother and returned to the forest minutes later,” he added. The rescue operation was led by District Forest Officer A.K. Ulaganathan, Division Officer S. Sukumar and Forester K. Selvaraj.
