Forest officials in Odisha’s Sundargarh district successfully rescued a female elephant that had fallen into an abandoned well while foraging for jackfruit in the early hours of Saturday.
The incident occurred in Raniberna village under the Banki Section of the Rourkela Forest Division. According to officials, the elephant had strayed into the village in search of food and fallen into the deep well, which had long been disused.
Alerted by locals, the Forest Department swung into action immediately. A JCB machine was deployed to dig around the pit and create an escape path. After several tense hours, the rescue team was able to assist the elephant out of the well.
Officials confirmed that the elephant sustained no serious injuries and eventually made its way back to the forest.
Social media was quick to applaud the effort. Former PCCF (Wildlife) Susanta Nanda shared a video of the rescue, describing it as a moment of silent gratitude from the elephant. “While returning to the wild, it stood for some time murmuring blessings to the green soldiers. Salutations to team Rourkela,” he posted.
The rescue not only highlighted the challenges of human-elephant interactions in rural Odisha but also underlined the growing responsiveness of forest officials and communities toward wildlife conservation.
