A young elephant who fell into a 20-foot well deep in the jungles of India was saved from a sad fate thanks to the efforts of kind soldiers who heard its cries for help.

According to reports, the elephant had wandered to the area from the Bishnupur jungle when it fell into the well. Fortunately, the well was near the Panagar army camp in Jalpaiguri, Western Bengal, so soldiers were able to hear the stricken elephant’s cries.

Watch the video of the rescue below.

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Video credit: Rumble

Military officials immediately asked for assistance from the Burdwan Forest Department and they responded and brought a crane with them. Video footage of the rescue shows someone throwing food into the well so that the trapped elephant wouldn’t starve while people were talking in the background.

The clip then cuts to a view of the elephant with a harness around its body and being transported by the mobile crane towards a waiting truck. As the elephant is slowly being maneuvered into the back of the truck, two helpers use the elephant’s tail to make sure it gets into the back head-on.

Dozens of people can be seen in the background watching the operation take place.

The Forestry Department kept the elephant under close supervision for a few days to ensure that it was healthy and uninjured before eventually releasing it back to the wild.

Based on information from the World Wildlife Fund, Indian elephants can spend up to 19 hours a day feeding on a diet of grass, tree bark, leaves, and roots which is why they can weigh between 2.2 to 5.5 tons and grow to a height between 6.6 feet and 9.8 feet.

In their search for food, these elephants can cover an area of up to 125 square miles and they often stay near sources of water because they need to drink water at least once in a day.

This explains why the rescued elephant was found where it was and why it fell down the well. The poor creature must have wanted a drink of water and didn’t realize just how deep the well was.

Still, all’s well that ends well and the kind soldiers near the well played a huge part in this happy ending.

 

 

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