india

Updated: Jun 27, 2019 14:35 IST

A four-year-old elephant calf, which fell into a 25-feet deep open well, was rescued by a joint team of forest and police department officials and locals in Kerala’s Kannur district early on Thursday after an 18 hours’ operation.

An earth remover was pressed into service to dig a way into the well and finally, the baby elephant, which slipped a couple of times, came out and joined its herd waiting in the nearby forest area.

Veterinarians said no visible injuries were found on the calf despite the fall.

Locals said they got suspicious when a herd of 11 elephants started circling the well desperately and that they shooed them away to the nearby forest using fireballs and crackers. They later noticed the calf in the well, which was almost dry.

Initially, the herd of elephants posed some trouble to the rescue work and the locals also protested, saying they won’t allow the rescue work if the authorities turn a blind eye to their plight. They said the herd had strayed into their habitat two days ago and they suffered a huge loss.

The state’s forest minister K Raju assured them that he will call a meeting on July 6 at Sreekandapuram to discuss the issue of animals straying into human habitats.

Climate change has triggered a severe man-animal conflict in many parts of the state. In Kerala, 14 people have been killed in attacks by elephant this year alone. Animal fatalities are also on the rise.

“It is a fact wild animals are straying into human habitats in a big way. It is happening everywhere. We have to find a permanent solution to end the man-animal conflict like this,” district forest officer MVV Kannan said.

Animal rights activists have suggested the forest department to plant more bamboo saplings and dig enough water reservoirs in forests to check this conflict.