MYSURU: An elephant calf, stuck in a mud puddle, was rescued by forest officials in the Maleyur range of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka.
A video of the rescue mission, tweeted by the Bandipur Tiger Reserve park's Twitter handle, is now making rounds on the internet, and garnering praise for the officials.
In the video, the female elephant calf can be seen rolling from side to side in an attempt to heave itself up. As the calf soon exhausts itself, trying to get out of the slush, the forest officials intervene and bring in an excavator to help the calf.
"One female elephant, stuck in the fresh mud puddle in Maleyur range of Bandipur Tiger Reserve, rescued successfully," the national park wrote, sharing the rescue video on Twitter.
Many who came across the video lauded the forest officials for their prompt rescue efforts. "Heart wrenching. The heart warming rescue is amazing...Kudos to RFO and team," said one user, while another user said in reply that God bless the person who operated JCB to help the elephant to stand on its own, without harming it.
Uttar Pradesh cadre IFoS officer, Ramesh Pandey, who also tweeted the video, said: "Sometimes wrong posture coupled with heavy weight in a slushy ground can make an elephant helpless. Thanks to officials and staff of @Bandipur_TR for timely nudge to the female elephant. She was exhausted. Kudos to all involved in this rescue."