A wild tusker which had accidentally fallen into a well in an agricultural field close to the MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary was rescued by the authorities on Thursday.
The lone tusker, aged around 25 years, is suspected to have crossed over from the Hoogyam range of the sanctuary. It had entered Kudaluru village around 7 a.m in search of fodder and fell into the 25-ft deep well full of water.
The local villagers adjoining the forest boundary heard the trumpeting sound of the elephant emanating from the well and saw it thrashing around in desperation.
The Forest Department, on receiving the information, launched a rescue operation around 9 a.m. An excavator was pressed into service to clear the ground, remove soil and create a pathway to enable the elephant to walk out of the well, said V. Yedukondalu, Deputy Conservator of Forests, MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary.
He said after about 90 minutes of incessant operations the pathway was created at a 45 degree angle and the tusker heaved itself up and made a dash towards the forest which bordered the village.
The authorities said their efforts were delayed because of the large crowd which created a ruckus and terrified the elephant.
The Ramapura police took more than one hour to reach the spot given the remote location. Though there were 50 Forest Department staff , crowd control and management became difficult and the police reinforcement was called for.
