Female elephant and its calf rescued from trench near Mudumalai Tiger Reserve

Forest Department officials said a herd of elephant had entered a human habitation near Bospara in Gudalur on Sunday night, when they were returning, the calf fell into a trench and could not get out, leading the mother to stay with it; after rescue operations, both animals are safe, they said

A female elephant and her calf were rescued by Forest Department range staff from the Gudalur Forest Division and the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) on Monday, after the two animals got stuck in an elephant trench along the border of the two forest divisions on Monday.

Forest Department officials said that a herd of elephants had entered a human habitation near Bospara in Gudalur late on Sunday night, and were attempting to return to the forest when the young calf got stuck inside an elephant-proof trench that had been dug to prevent elephants from wandering into human settlements. However, as the sides of the trench were too steep for the calf to climb out, the mother elephant refused to abandon her calf and stayed inside the trench to protect the young animal. After receiving information about the incident, staff from the two forest divisions rushed to the spot and began efforts to rescue the two animals.

N. Rajendran, Forest Range Officer, Gudalur Range, said the rescue efforts continued for around 90 minutes, as Forest staff set about filling in the trench with soil to provide a ramp for the two animals to climb out. “After the ramp was completed, range staff moved away to a safe distance to ensure that the animals managed to get out of the trench,” said Mr. Rajendran, adding that the mother and calf seemed to be in good health and were being monitored.