Forest officials in western Assam’s Goalpara district rescued 11 elephants of two separate herds from a mud trap within 24 hours.
The elephants had come down from the adjoining hills of Meghalaya to the district’s Choibari area in search of food.
Local villagers had informed the Forest Department officials and the police after they found the elephants unable to get out of the mud trap.
“Today [December 3] morning, we rescued six elephants that were trapped in the same muddy pond where five others from another herd had been stuck yesterday [December 2],” a Forest official said.
The rescue team used excavators to dig up a side of the pond, helping the elephants to climb up slowly. Officials said the villagers helped them in the operation.
The elephants were guided to a nearby jungle, the official said.
A similar operation spanning 10 hours was carried out on Thursday afternoon when five elephants of a herd fell in the same pond. One of the elephants was a calf.
Goalpara district has had a history of human-elephant conflict leading to damage of houses and crops.
Meanwhile, the Northeast Frontier Railway has initiated an inquiry into the mowing down of two wild elephants in central Assam’s Morigaon district on November 30. The engine of the New Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express had rammed the elephants around 10 p.m.
“NF Railway has imposed caution during train movement and reassessment of notified elephant corridors are also being taken in coordination with the Forest Department,” a statement from the railway zone said.