Elephant calf rescued from drainage channel

A baby elephant was on Tuesday rescued from a drainage channel inside a tea garden in Jalpaiguri district, forest department officials said.

Tea garden labourers and members of the local wildlife squad rescued the four-year-old calf and released it deep inside the forest.

A herd of about 12 elephants was going from Maraghat forest to Reti forest when the baby elephant fell and stuck into a drainage channel inside Riabari tea garden, the officials said.

As the animal got upside down after the fall, it could not get up and started trumpeting. 

Alarmed by the cry of the elephant, tea garden labourers reached the spot and informed Binnaguri Wildlife Squad.

Both the labourers and the wildlife personnel started digging the earth to widen the channel and the calf was rescued, the officials said.

But, by that time the herd had left the spot. As the calf was not injured, it was released at a spot in the corridor the herd took. The officials said elephant herds generally do not take back a member if it had come in contact with humans.