An elephant was hoisted out of a 60-foot-deep well in southern India's Tamil Nadu after an almost 15-hour rescue operation on November 19.

With ropes tied around its legs and body, the elephant is pulled out from the deep pit using a crane near Panchapalli.

According to District Forest Officer Rajkumar, the animal had been tranquilised before it was lifted from the well. Once out of the well it was then examined by a team of veterinarians for any injuries.

The female elephant is aged between 20 and 25 and was part of a group that had strayed towards the village.

Rajkumar added: "The open well is approximately 60-feet-deep and the elephant has likely received minor injuries. Based on its movements, veterinary doctor Prakash confirmed that the elephant is in good condition.

"We had fed the elephant fruits and ensured that it received ample water. Food was provided by lowering a bucket using a crane."

As the tree was in the middle of a coconut grove digging a trench for the elephant would have been time-consuming due to the number of trees nearby.

District Forest Officer Rajkumar said that the elephant had been tranquilised and lifted out of the open well with a crane on Thursday evening. It had been examined by a team of veterinarians for injuries. Once conscious, the animal would be released to the Dharmapuri-Krishnagiri border forest later in the night, he said.
The female elephant aged between 20-25 years, was part of a group of three jumbos that had roamed into the forest area close to Palacode, part of a routine migratory route along the elephant corridor. However, the female elephant ventured close to a human habitation near Panchamapalli and fell into the open well, which was not protected by a wall, in the early hours of Thursday. On learning the news, Palacode forest ranger Selvam and Rajkumar rushed to the spot and began rescue operations along with fire and rescue personnel. "The open well is approximately 60 feet deep and the elephant has likely received minor injuries. Based on its movements, veterinary doctor Prakash confirmed that the elephant is in good condition. We had fed the elephant fruits and ensured that it received ample water. Food was provided by lowering a bucket using a crane," Rajkumar explained. As the well was in the middle of a coconut grove, officials said that they could not dig a trench to rescue the elephant -- it would have been time-consuming, and falling trees would have hindered the efforts. Further, they said the well was very narrow giving them little wriggle room, although the water had been pumped out. Officials finally decided to tranquilise the jumbo, standing knee-deep