An elephant was stranded on a rock in the middle of a river.
The water level in the Chalakudy River in Kerala, India, was rapidly rising when the shutters of the Peringalkuthu Dam were opened as a male creature attempted to cross it.
By the time the elephant reached the center of the river, it couldn’t proceed any farther due to the fast-flowing current.
The intelligent creature soon discovered some boulders to use as a refuge while witnessing the ever-increasing barrier in front of it.
Fortunately, on-duty forest guards alerted the dam engineers, who stopped releasing water to allow the elephant to flee.
‘We requested the engineers at Peringalkuthu Dam to lower the dam’s shutters for 30 minutes to bring down the level and speed of water flowing through the river,’ said Vazhachal District Forest Officer S V Vinod.
As the water level fell, the elephant made his way across the river and back into the jungle.
The wild elephant was spotted near the Charpa Waterfall, above the well-known Athirapally Falls.
Following the overflowing of the Chalakudi river in August, visitors have been prohibited from viewing the 25-meter high Athirapally waterfall.
