An elephant stuck in a ditch was rescued by forest officials in Coorg earlier this week and a video of the incident has gone viral on social media.
Sarabhai vs Sarabhai actor Satish Shah posted the nearly two-minute clip on Twitter on Wednesday and applauded the officials who rescued the elephant.
The elephant accidentally fell into the ditch and it was very difficult to climb out of because it was quite muddy. The animal slipped over and over as he tried to escape. The officials then used the JCB Loader to gently push the elephant and it finally managed to climb out.
As the elephant walked around the area after the rescue operation, officials cheered and set off firecrackers near the JCB Loader.
Saidpur Coorg. God bless them pic.twitter.com/T9ox9jhpmf
— satish shah (@sats45) May 19, 2021
Some social media users objected to that, but Indian Forest Service officer Sudha Ramen explained that the cracker was exploded for a reason: “To direct the animal into the forest so that it doesn’t attack anyone due to stress.”
#Elephant rescue operation from Coorg. Every operations are different based on terrain, animal involved &other factors. Animal safety is important.
Why was tat smoke cracker? To direct the animal into forest, so that it doesn’t attack anyone due to stresspic.twitter.com/AfK9tnUKLJ
— Sudha Ramen IFS 🇮🇳 (@SudhaRamenIFS) May 19, 2021
The video has gone viral with more than 34,000 views within hours of being posted online, and netizens praised the officials who rescued the elephant.