Sloth bear falls into 40 feet well in Adilabad, rescued

A sloth bear which fell into a nearly 40 feet deep well in Sakera village of Adilabad was rescued after over three hours of efforts on Saturday (May 31). The bear was first spotted by a woman who was passing by the well. After the Forest department officials received information, they sought help from the Fire department. The bear scaled out of the well after a ladder attached to an excavator was suspended into it.

The locals had initially used a rope hoping it would scale up. “Its paws are huge and cannot hold onto the rope. I asked the Fire department to bring us a ladder and rope”, said Thodishetty Pranay, Forest Range Officer, Boath Range.

Meanwhile, he along with other officials tied ropes to four legs of a cot and suspended it into the well. Though the bear sat on the cot, it again tried to climb up holding the rope and fell into the well.

When a ladder alone was used, it too did not work. Mr. Pranay said that the ladder was placed in the well using an excavator. It latched onto it. After the ladder was pulled up with the excavator’s bucket to a certain height, it climbed out and ran through the fields into the forest.

Rayulu Rathod from Sakera said that they had never seen a bear earlier. “Tigers have been sighted near our village in November last,” he said.

Published - June 01, 2025 09:41 pm IST