A female elephant that fell into a well near Palacode in Dharmapuri on Thursday was rescued late in the night, after a nearly 14-hour struggle.
According to officials from the Forest Department, the elephant, aged about 25 years, fell into a farm well owned by Venkatachalam in Ellikundanoor around 4.30 a.m. On hearing the cries of the animal from the well, the farmer alerted officials.
The water in the well was at a low level. The elephant had been roaming with two other elephants in the area for the past few days, the officials added.
District Forest Officers S. Prabhu from Krishnagiri and Rajkumar from Dharmapuri oversaw the rescue operations and over 50 officials from the Forest Department, the Fire and Rescue Services and the police were involved in the process.
According to officials, the well was about 55-feet deep and water from the well was pumped out. Two JCB machines, trucks and cranes were used to pull the elephant out from the well. Coconut tree leaves were dropped into the well to feed the elephant. A team, led by wildlife veterinarian Prakash, administered three darts, two of which hit and tranquilised the animal. The personnel then lifted the elephant out. According to officials from the Forest Department, the elephant will be released into the Hosur forest area, from where it had come here.
