Back home, there is
something to cheer as an elephant, which
accidentally fell into a 45 feet deep well in a village on the outskirts of
Coimbatore, was rescued by forest and fire personnel on Thursday.The
10-year-old male elephant, part of a herd which came in search of water in
Kovanur village, accidentally fell into the dry well on Tuesday night and was
noticed by the villagers on Thursday morning, after it trumpeted. Efforts by
forest department and Fire and Rescue department officials to bring it up,
failed to bear fruit on Thursday due to non-availability of necessary equipment
and personnel, forest department officials said.
Indian Express reports
that Clockwork precision and deft handling helped Coimbatore forest officials
rescue an elephant calf after a five hour-long rescue operation from a
50-foot-deep dry well at Kovanur in Periyanacikenpalayam forest range in
Coimbatore on Thursday afternoon. After
getting first-aid, the little jumbo headed straight to the forest amid applause
from NGO volunteers and local villagers, who stayed put for over five hours
while the officials carried out the arduous and risky rescue operation.
If there were any nerves,
the officials did not show signs of it as the first round of the operation was
ably managed by K Asokan, veterinarian of Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR),
who administered a tranquilizer shot that sedated the little one around 10.15
am – nearly 30 hours after it fell into the well. E Vijayaragavan, veterinarian
of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) assisted Asokan.An hour later, when the effects
of the tranquilizer started kicking in, four forest staff were lowered into the
well. They deftly tied belts around the animal’s chest and stomach – a risky
operation that could have cost the pachyderm its life. Experts say lifting an
elephant using a rope is a difficult task, as pachyderms do not have pleural
space. Any kind of pressure on the chest and sternum for more than 10-15
minutes can lead to suffocation, and death. Hence, placing the ropes deftly
without putting the elephant’s life at risk was an arduous task. Moreover,
exact placement of rope and shifting weight to stomach too was very crucial.
The sedative – Xylazine –
was used to induce sleep, said the vets. The precaution was taken as there was
a crowd of by-standers and any loud noise could have disturbed the jumbo to
disastrous consequences. According to S Ramasubramanian, District Forest
Officer, Coimbatore, “Though the animal fell into a 50-foot-deep well, the
animal seems not to have suffered an internal haemorrhage. After bring the little
one out, both veterinarians applied ointment to the bruises on its forehead. We
also administrated injections of vitamins, pain killer and long acting
antibiotic. The combination drugs would have effect for at least three more
days.” Singling out fire and rescue service department for showering praise, he
said, “They helped us by deftly lowering forest staff inside the well using a
rope.
They were at the ready to
rescue the staff, in case there was an attack. However, the animal cooperated
with us,” he said. Stating that the animal showed no sign of external injury,
he said that the pachyderm went straight into the forest. “A team has been
formed to monitor it. It will get reunited with its herd soon,” he hoped.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
24th Mar 2017
Inputs from Indian Express; photos from Dinamalar and Dinathanthi.
