This morning, a baby elephant fell into a narrow pit near Gonikoppal in Kodagu district. Thanks to the quick help from the multi-skilled rescuers, who almost immediately managed to pull the elephant out of the pit, the calf has been rescued by pulling with all its weight.
The incident occurred near Bhadragola. Due to a baby elephant’s distress, M.M. Subramani noticed what was happening and discovered that it had stumbled onto an open pit on his coffee estate.
The calf unwisely tumbled into a pit last night or early this morning and could not come up because the hole had cement rings.
Forest officials alerted their team and the help of villagers, one ring was removed, and wood was placed so that the baby elephant could climb up.
Ranger Rajappa led an operation in the area with localities.
In three hours, the exhausted elephant was rescued. The calf was just coming down from the estate and within a herd with a couple of pachyderms.
Speaking to Star of Mysore, Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF), Uthappa said that the Department was initially mulling to tranquilize the elephant.
However, the plan was ruled out as the elephant is young and may not survive a dart from this. Later, the decision was made to remove a pit wall and put up wooden planks.
The planks were of no use, and in the end, the calf was pulled out by another domesticated elephant with a rope.
After the rescue operation, conservationists gave the calf water and food. The herd of elephants was nearby, and the calf would be taken there after three or four hours. Uthappa said that rescuers were told the herd’s location so they could wait for them before picking up the calf.
“We will not move the calf to the elephant camp as its mother is nearby. We will monitor it till it reaches the herd,” he said.
