An elephant calf, which fell into an abandoned well at Kumbalathodu, near Mekkapala forest station, was rescued and released into the wild by forest officials on Saturday morning.
According to Mekkapala deputy range officer Manoj Kumar A, a herd of around six elephants entered a rubber estate on Friday night and a calf, aged about two years, fell into a well around 4.30 am. The herd was very aggressive and uprooted trees in the area.
Upon receiving information, a team of forest officials reached the spot but the mother elephant did not allow anyone to approach the well. Later, the forest officials managed to distract the mother and helped the calf to escape from the well. The calf was rescued around 7 am and joined the herd which was waiting in the nearby forest.
The elephants charged at the forest team multiple times during the rescue operation and the mother elephant damaged the team’s rescue vehicle. A bike rider who went to the area was chased by the elephants but managed to escape. However, the elephants destroyed his bike.
The incident occurred in an enclosure inside the forest, said Kodanad range officer K Abeesh.
There are only a few families living in the area, which is frequently visited by elephants. The rescue operation was completed in two hours and the calf was united with the herd, he said.