Keonjhar: A wild elephant calf stuck in mud in a pond was rescued after nearly a seven-hour long operation by the forest and fire officials at Masinabila in Keonjhar district on Sunday.
The calf along with its mother came to the pond last night in search of water and got stuck in the mud. Though the mother elephant tried to rescue her calf, she failed to pull her out.
The distressed mother, which remained in the vicinity of the trapped calf, did not allow any official or locals to approach towards the calf.
The forest guards, however kept watch and even sprayed water on the trapped area from a distance of nearly 100 metres. After the mud became soft, the animal pulled itself out of the mud and reunited with its mother.
As the elephant calf was bit tired and stressed, it was last seen taking rest in a nearby forest, sources said.
Forest officials claimed that condition of the mammal is being tracked using drone camera.
"We initially thought that the mother jumbo can alone rescue its calf, but failed. So, we informed the fire officials and launched a rescue operation," a forest official said.