On the wee hours of Sunday morning, the residents of Chokkad in Malappuram district’s Nilambur heard a loud thud during the flash flood caused by heavy rains in parts of Kerala. When they stepped out to see what was happening, they saw a baby elephant floating in the river. The residents soon alerted the forest department. Armed with ropes, the forest officials rescued the elephant calf and managed to bring it to the banks of the river. The baby jumbo, said to be one-month-old, was later let off into the forest.
However, it was not an easy task to guide the calf to the forest. According to visuals, the baby elephant could be seen crying, probably from the shock of being drifted by the water body. With ropes tied to its neck, the baby elephant was visibly terrified and was resisting the group of people helping the calf walk.
The Forest Department officials then took the calf to a nearby forest area, said to be frequented by elephants, and released it there.
Speaking to TNM, an official from Kalikavu Forest Range under Nilambur South Division said that the incident took place around 2 am on Sunday. “The baby elephant drifted about one kilometre downstream before it somehow managed to reach near the banks of the river. The calf was so terrified that it stood there not knowing what to do. When we tried to bring it up, it was trying to run away from us,” the official recounted.
After walking for a few metres, the baby jumbo was transported in a vehicle to the nearest forest under the Nilambur South Division. “It even tried to jump off the vehicle. We could not examine it properly as the need of the hour then was releasing it into the forest,” added the official.
According to the report, the elephant calf was rescued without any injuries.
Parts of Kerala has been witnessing intermittent heavy rain for the past two days. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted isolated heavy rainfall in many districts, including Malappuram, for Sunday and coming days. Yellow colour code warning, implying district authorities to be updated on the weather situation, was also issued to 12 districts on Sunday. Kasaragod district has been issued an orange colour code warning, which means that the district authorities should be prepared.
Watch Manorama News report showing the baby elephant being rescued: