Dramatic footage captures the moment a village in India came together to rescue a baby elephant that had fallen into a 30ft deep well.
The frightened calf, who had plunged into the well after getting detached from its herd, was eventually rescued after an operation that lasted many hours in the sweltering heat.
Distressed at the bottom of the well, the three-and-a-half month old elephant was helped by the villagers in the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu, a South Indian state.
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Dramatic footage captures the moment a village in India came together to rescue a baby elephant that had fallen into a 30ft deep well. The frightened calf, who had plunged into the well after getting detached from its herd, was rescued after an operation lasting hours
Distressed at the bottom of the well, the three-and-a-half month old elephant was helped by the villagers in the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu, a South Indian state
The elephants had come out of the Udedurgam reserve forest on Monday night, apparently in search of food and water in the village, situated on the fringes of the reserve forest.
Dramatic video of the rescue operation shows people throwing ropes into the well and trying to pull the calf out.
The initial rescue where villagers tied a rope around the elephants body and tried to haul it out failed when the frightened calf wriggled out of the constraints.
The elephants had come out of the Udedurgam reserve forest on Monday night, apparently in search of food and water in the village, situated on the fringes of the reserve forest
Dramatic video of the rescue operation shows people throwing ropes into the well and trying to pull the calf out. The initial rescue where villagers tied a rope around the elephants body and tried to haul it out failed when the frightened calf wriggled out of the constraints
Distressing footage shows the elephants falling back into the well multiple times.
Eventually the villagers and rescue team change tact by throwing down a large net and ushering the elephant towards it.
Finally, helped by dozens of villagers, the elephant was hauled out to safety.
Once away from the well, villagers and rescue officials ushered the calf back into the jungle where they hoped his herd was waiting for him.