Elephant rescued from a 60-ft well in TN’s Dharmapuri sent back to forest

The pachyderm fell into an open well at a farmland on Thursday morning and was rescued following 13-hour rescue operations.
The rescue operations that was undertaken in Dharmapuri
The rescue operations that was undertaken in Dharmapuri
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A female elephant, which was rescued from a 60 feet deep well on Thursday night after a laborious 13-hour rescue operation, has been sent back to Marandahalli forest in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu. The doctors performed first aid and monitored the health of the pachyderm for three hours, following which the elephant was sent back to the forest. The Dharmapuri District Forest Officer told TNM, "The doctors provided first aid for the elephant since the pachyderm was present in the water for 13 hours. However, the elephant started to respond to treatment well and it showed healthy movements."

He added, "Following this, we left the elephant back into the Marandahalli forest area. We have also given it anti-inflammatory drugs. Our team will monitor the elephant for a few days but currently, the elephant is showing positive signs." The elephant, which is 25 to 30 years old, is showing some mobility. It will be able to move around freely in the forest soon, he added.

On Thursday morning, the female elephant fell into a 60-feet-deep well at 5 am near a farmland in Dharmapuri district. The villagers immediately spotted the elephant in the barren well and informed the officials. Based on the information, 50 staff from the Forest Department and 20 members of the fire and rescue team immediately rushed to the spot and started the rescue operations. After trying to rescue the elephant manually for a few hours, the officials also brought JCB earthmovers for help. The officials tranquilised the elephant twice and rescued it.

The elephant was standing up and swaying during the attempts to regain strength. A video also showed the rescue team trying to approach the elephant with ropes to make it stand steady. The veterinarian immediately provided first aid and examined the elephant for injuries.

In a similar incident last year, a baby elephant slipped into a dry well-closed with a concrete slab in Kannur of Kerala district. The elephant was successfully rescued after an operation that lasted for 12-18 hours.

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