Elephant calf rescued from Valparai water tank by forest dept personnel and its mother

COIMBATORE: A three-year-old male elephant calf, which accidentally fell into a ground-level water tank in a coffee estate in Valparai, was rescued by forest department personnel.

What makes this rescue special is the fact that the mother elephant patiently watched the rescue efforts and at the end helped the calf come out of the tank by lifting it with its trunk.Forest officials said a herd of four adult elephants and a calf had strayed into Villonie estate in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR). The calf fell into the 15-foot-deep water tank after it stepped on the steel wire mesh which was covering it.

Estate employees noticed the mother elephant attempting to rescue the calf. They alerted the forest department.The forest department sent two teams comprising 30 members of the anti-depredation squad (ADS) led by range officers M Suresh Krishnan and Giridharan for the rescue operation. The tank which had water for a depth of eight feet was drained. The team then used an excavator to break down a portion of the tank and filled it with soil to help the calf climb out.

“Initially, when the team arrived, the mother elephant refused to move aside. But on realising that we were attempting to help the calf, it stepped back. Once we filled the tank with soil, the mother elephant helped the calf by lifting it herself and pulling it out of the tank,” said range officer Suresh. He added that the calf did not sustain any injuries in the incident or during rescue. The herd immediately moved into the forest.A video of the rescue operation and the calf reuniting with its mother, went viral on social media, eliciting heartwarming responses.