It took more than two hours to rescue the animal

Buried alive in a landslip for nearly eight days, a calf was miraculously rescued in Kalur Devasturu near Madikeri on Thursday in an exercise that took two and a half hours.

At the small hamlet, there was devastation all around. Tonnes of mud had come crashing down on it after a landslip on August 16. Janardhan Panathale’s house was damaged and muck and slush covered it on all sides. A makeshift cow shed adjacent to the house was also swept away.

While the cow had been freed from the shed hours before the landslip, Mr. Panathale and his family did not know the whereabouts of a three-month-old calf which had been tethered. The family visited their farm three times to retrieve their belongings, but the calf was nowhere to be found.

However, on Thursday, they were shocked to spot one eye of the calf peering out of the mud. The calf was alive!

Neighbours and family members worked hard to remove the mud and debris covering it. After more than two hours, it was rescued and placed in a neighbour’s house that was unaffected by the landslip. While the calf is eating grass and drinking water, it is still unable to walk due to its atrophied legs.