A dramatic footage has emerged of the rescue of a baby elephant that had fallen in a 10ft-deep swamp of a hotel in southern India.
The incident happened early in morning of February 13 when a herd of elephants was rummaging through a pile of leftover food near Thekkady boat landing in Idduki district of Kerala.
While hunting for food, the herd stepped on the slab of the garbage tank. Slab gave away under the weight of the baby elephant and it fell into the pit.
The herd members tried to extend a helping trunk, but that was not of much use. When the day broke, the herd went back to near by jungle and kept waiting for the baby.
When the hotel staff heard the intermittent trumpeting of the calf, they informed the forest department officials. Soon a joint team of forest rangers and local police swooped over the area and started the operation.
They broke one side of the wall of the garbage tank to make way for the elephant to climb out of the cesspool. A JCB was pressed into service to break the wall of the tank. The operation continued that took around two hours was a success as the elephant was rescued in time and reunited with its herd members who were watching the operation from a distance.