Elephant falls into trench, rescued by Forest dept. team

A 30-year-old tusker which had fallen into a cattle-proof trench (CPT) on the outskirts of Hanur range of MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary was rescued by a Forest Department team and released back into the wild, on Wednesday.

The incident took place near Arkanalla village and the elephant fell into the trench created to prevent cattle from crossing into the forest for grazing. The local community members who spotted the elephant struggling to climb out of the trench, informed the authorities who reached the spot and levelled the ground to create a path for the elephant to move out, according to Deputy Conservator of Forests V. Yedukondalu.

He said the elephant, which struggled for a long time to come out of the trench, had collapsed due to exhaustion. The excavator used to level the ground was also used to nudge the elephant so that it could stand up.

After repeated efforts, the elephant, which was disoriented, managed to stand and turned around as if to charge at the excavator. But after prodding and repeated nudging, it walked out of the trench and moved into the forests. Fire and Emergency Service personnel sprayed water on the animal to calm it down and created a pool to help quench its thirst. The forest personnel trailed the elephant from a safe distance to observe for any debilitating injury but found none, according to the official.