BHUBANESWAR: A large group of wild boars fell into an open well in Keonjhar district prompting forest officials to launch an unexpected rescue operation on Monday.
The incident took place near a crop field of a forest fringe village in Balabhadrapur beat of Naranpur section in Keonjhar range, an official from the Keonjhar territorial division said.
A group of 27 wild boars had ventured to a farm land, close to the Balabhadrapur beat forest, in search of food last night and fell into the uncovered well, likely due to a sudden movement that caused the animals to scatter, the officials said.
On being informed, the forest team immediately rushed to the spot and rescued the wild boars with the help of an excavator. A ramp was created, allowing the boars to walk out to safety.
"A young boar might have fallen into the well first, causing the rest of the members to dive in to rescue the stranded boarlet," said ACF Keonjhar Ashok Kumar Das.
He said one boarlet died in the incident, while the remaining 26 members of the herd were safely rescued and released back into the forest.
Das said the well had been dug in a private farm land and the farmer concerned has been asked to cover it to prevent recurrence of such incidents.