After a baby elephant fell into a well near the Indian village of Bundu last week, villagers showed up en masse to save the trapped animal.
The elephant, which became isolated from its herd, cried out from the bottom of the 12-foot well, inciting locals to gather and attempt to save the animal. Since the well was too deep to hoist the calf out, a rescue team was called the next day to save the elephant.
Using construction equipment, the rescuers broke down the sides of the well and created a slopped pathway so the baby elephant could climb out on its own. The elephant was freed from the well after being stuck for 12 hours, the Times of India reports.
According to ITN News, the elephant may have strayed from the herd to scout for food and report back. However, as the Times of India notes, the calf may have also been searching for its mother, which may have been one of two female elephants recently electrocuted in the area.
Saving an elephant from a deep hole or well is no easy feat, as a rescue team in Kenya demonstrated in October. The team from Amboseli Trust for Elephants used a Land Rover and rope to pull a baby elephant out of a hole, but first officials had to shoo the mother away so they could make the save.
Deforestation and increased poaching has forced animals to enter villages in search of food or refuge, the Telegraph reports.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, the main threat to Indian elephants is habitat loss and human-elephant conflict.
Also on HuffPost:
An injured wild elephant tries to stand after it was attacked by poachers a number of days ago at the foothills of Pancharatna hills in Goalpara district of lower Assam, India, Monday, Dec. 10, 2012. The poachers cut off two tusks and the tail of the elephant, who is now expected to survive, according to local animal officials. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Indian forest officials, on domestic elephants, try to push an injured wild elephant after it was attacked by poachers a number of days ago at the foothills of Pancharatna hills in Goalpara district of lower Assam, India, Monday, Dec. 10, 2012. The poachers cut off two tusks and the tail of the elephant, who is now expected to survive, according to local animal officials. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
An Indian forest official tries to feed an injured wild elephant with bananas after it was attacked by poachers a number of days ago at the foothills of Pancharatna hills in Goalpara district of lower Assam, India, Monday, Dec. 10, 2012. The poachers cut off two tusks and the tail of the elephant, who is now expected to survive, according to local animal officials. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
An Indian forest official tries to feed a banana to an injured wild elephant after it was attacked by poachers a number of days ago at the foothills of Pancharatna hills in Goalpara district of lower Assam, India, Monday, Dec. 10, 2012. The poachers cut off two tusks and the tail of the elephant, who is now expected to survive, according to local animal officials. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
An Indian forest official throws water on an injured wild elephant to clean it after it was attacked by poachers a number of days ago at the foothills of Pancharatna hills in Goalpara district of lower Assam, India, Monday, Dec. 10, 2012. The poachers cut off two tusks and the tail of the elephant, who is now expected to survive, according to local animal officials. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
An injured wild elephant tries to eat a banana leaf with its trunk after it was attacked by poachers a number of days ago at the foothills of Pancharatna hills in Goalpara district of lower Assam, India, Monday, Dec. 10, 2012. The poachers cut off two tusks and the tail of the elephant, who is now expected to survive, according to local animal officials. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
An injured wild elephant struggles as it tries to drink water from a mud puddle after it was attacked by poachers a number of days ago at the foothills of Pancharatna Hills in Goalpara district of lower Assam, India, Monday, Dec. 10, 2012. The poachers cut off two tusks and the tail of the elephant, who is now expected to survive, according to local animal officials. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
In this photo taken on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, Malaysian customs officers pose as they display elephant tusks which were recently seized in Port Klang, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysian authorities have seized 1,500 elephant tusks in a $20 million shipment that was believed to have been headed to China. (AP Photo)
In this photo taken on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, Malaysian customs officers pose as they display elephant tusks which were recently seized in Port Klang, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysian authorities have seized 1,500 elephant tusks in a $20 million shipment that was believed to have been headed to China. (AP Photo)
IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR WWF-Canon - Mba Ndong Marius, a Parcs Gabon Eco Guard, holds up a poached leopard skin in front of a collection of seized elephant tusk ivory and weapons on Monday, June 25, 2012, in Gabon. More than 1,000 rangers worldwide have lost their lives protecting wild places and protected species in the last ten years, according to the WWF. Perceived by organized criminals to be high profit and low risk, the illicit trade in wildlife is worth at least US$ 19 billion per year, making it the fourth largest illegal global trade after narcotics, counterfeiting, and human trafficking, according to a new report commissioned by WWF. Besides driving many endangered species towards extinction, illegal wildlife trade strengthens criminal networks, undermines national security, and poses increasing risks to global health, according to the WWF report, Fighting illicit wildlife trafficking: A consultation with governments, which will be unveiled today at a briefing for United Nations ambassadors in New York. (WWF-Canon/James Morgan via AP Images)
Source : huffingtonpost[dot]com
0 comments:
Post a Comment