Elephant ‘turns turtle’ in Gudalur, rescued

The incident took place at Machikolly village in Gudalur Range between 8 and 8.30 am, when the prime (first-time) mother and its three month-old male calf were feasting on the trees and plants as they were negotiating the muddy slope from the road. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Gudalur P K Dileep said that the villagers witnessed the elephant and its calf slip and fall down.

“It was a slow fall as the elephants lost their footing in the loose soil. While the mother elephant rolled over and got stuck in an awkward position, the calf was helplessly waiting close to its mother. The villagers immediately informed us and the rescue operation lasted for an hour,” he told DTNext. 

The rescue teams chased the calf to a distance before they started rescue operation. They manually loosened soil close to the elephant’s side so that it would wriggle its way out of the groove. But as it became futile, an earth mover was brought and in 20 minutes the soil close to the animal was removed. The jumbo was back on its feet in next few minutes. 

The 15-year-old elephant took a while to recover from the minor injuries before rushing towards its calf that was waiting for her at a distance. “The calf started suckling milk and the two returned to the nearby forest. It is a positive sign that they are fine,” a forest official added.