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Dibrugarh: Residents of Khamjongia village in the Titabar area of Jorhat district came together to rescue four wild elephants, including a struggling calf, that had fallen into a deep pond. The incident took place around 6.10 pm on Wednesday, when the elephants which got separated from their herd, found themselves trapped in the large pond, unable to climb out due to its steep slippery edges. The elephants repeatedly attempted to scale the pond's steep sides but kept sliding back into the deep muddy water. As it got dark and temperatures dropped, concern grew among the villagers, particularly for the young calf showing signs of exhaustion. "We heard a distressing sound coming from the pond around 6.10 pm. When we rushed to the site, we found four elephants had fallen into the pond and were struggling to climb out. The slippery edges of the pond made it impossible for them to escape. The forest officials wanted to wait for an excavator but we knew time was crucial. We knew we had to act quickly. We couldn't just stand by and do nothing," village headman Hem Chandra Borah said. Armed with hoes, shovels and spades from their homes, the men, women and children of the village worked in unison to dig a makeshift path along the pond's edge. Their persistent efforts finally paid off at approximately 10.15 pm, when all four elephants managed to climb to safety. "It was a moment of pure joy when they finally walked free. Though the elephants were limping, we were relieved to see them walk free without any major injuries. If the people had not acted quickly, there was a real possibility that the elephant calf may have perished in the deep waters as it was visibly struggling to stay afloat. The moment they stepped out, it felt like a victory for all of us," Ujjal Baruah, a local said.
Bhopal: Vatsala, considered Asia's oldest elephant, died at the age of more than 100 years in Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Madhya Pradesh late on Tuesday. Her last rites were performed in the Hinauta elephant camp inside PTR late on Tuesday evening. "Vatsala was considered to be Asia's oldest elephant. Her last rites were performed by officers and employees of the Panna Tiger Reserve", an official statement said. Popularly known among the forest staff of the PTR as 'Vatsala Daadi (Grandma)' for her unusual affection for baby elephants in the reserve, the centenarian female pachyderm was kno ...Read More >
Viral video shows AI cameras spotting a herd of elephants. (Photo: X/susantananda3) Elephants in Odisha's forests often face the threat of train collisions on railway tracks, as highlighted by multiple reports over the years. To prevent such accidents, authorities installed four AI cameras in the Rourkela Forest Division. A post on X (formerly Twitter) by Susanta Nanda, a retired Indian Forest Service officer, stated that the use of AI cameras effectively averted another potential accident. In t ...Read More >
BHOPAL: She never mated, yet raised generations of calves. She survived brutal attacks, lived through blindness, and stood as a matriarch in the forests of Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh for over three decades. But when Vatsala died this week, the gentle elephant did so just short of global recognition - because of one missing document.On Tuesday, Vatsala collapsed into a pit near Hinauta Elephant Camp and could not rise. Her body finally gave way. Forest officials said she was more than 100 years old - a contender for Guinness Book of World Records - but could not secure the title. "Wi ...Read More >
Dibrugarh: Forest officials and villagers collaborated on Saturday evening in a rescue operation to save a wild elephant calf that had been trapped in a muddy pit for nearly two days in Arunachal Pradesh's Tirap district.The elephant calf had fallen into what is believed to be an old well in the Deomali area and was unable to get out on its own. The animal's distress was discovered by locals, who immediately alerted the forest department. Upon receiving the information, a team of forest personnel, led by range forest officer (RFO) Diwang Lowang and supervised by divisional forest officer (DFO) ...Read More >
NEW DELHI, July 18: Bangladesh has apprehended 34 Indian fishermen for allegedly fishing in its territorial waters and India has been pressing Dhaka to ensure their safe and early return, official sources said on Friday. The fishermen along with their two fishing trawlers were apprehended on the intervening night of July 14 and 15, they said. Immediately after information about the incident was received, the Indian high commission in Bangladesh took up the matter with Bangladeshi authorities and immediate consular access to the fishermen, the sources said.A total of 34 Indian fishermen along ...Read More >
Mumbai (Maharshtra) [India], July 19 (ANI): Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has said that the proposal to rename Islampur in Sangli district as Ishwarpur in Maharashtra reflects India ongoing cultural renaissance. He said that it marks an effort to restore historical identities that were once deliberately erased. Speaking to the media on Friday, Shekhawat said, There were many of our subjects, places, history books, and incidents, which were intentionally erased, or attempts were made to erase them. Now that they are coming alive again, and India is going through a ...Read More >
Jhargram, Jul 18 (PTI) Three elephants, including two calves, were run over by an express train near Banstala railway station in West Bengal's Paschim Midnapore district, police said on Friday. The incident, which took place on Thursday night, occurred when an elephant herd that probably came from Jharkhand's Dalma forest was traversing, they said. Also Read | Ola, Uber Strike Causes Travel Woes for 4th Consecutive Day in Mumbai and Other Cities of Maharashtra: What Are Cab Drivers' Key Demands?. The three pachyderms were mowed on the tracks by a speeding Janshatabdi Express on the Kharagpu ...Read More >
Jorhat: In a region often fraught with human-elephant conflicts, an extraordinary act of compassion unfolded in Assam's Jorhat district. Villagers from the Chamguri Khmzangia area in the Titabar sub-division united to rescue a mother elephant and her four calves trapped in a deep, muddy pond. The incident occurred on Wednesday evening when the elephants, part of a 60-member herd from the Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, ventured into the area in search of food. While foraging, the mother and calves became separated from the herd and fell into the pond. The distressed calls of the trapped elephants ...Read More >
Jhargram/Kolkata: A male calf was among three elephants killed after they were hit by an allegedly speeding Barbil-Howrah Jan Shatabdi Express in the early hours of Friday near Jhargram's Manikpara. Rail services were paused for a few hours following the accident.While local sources and activists say 'hulla' parties had been driving away a herd of 20 elephants across the tracks when the accident took place, forest department denied this. The herd, sources claimed, was being driven towards Midnapore forest division. "While most were successfully sent to the other side, three (including an adult ...Read More >
THANE, July 18: A man and his two children died as their motorbike was dashed by a truck in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district of Maharashtra.Gopal Chandanse (36), his wife and two kids were riding to their village when the truck dashed the two-wheeler from behind around 3.30 pm.They were taken to the hospital where Gopal, his son Hriday (7) and daughter Avani (9) were declared dead. Gopal's wife Meenabai (32) was injured and undergoing treatment.The truck driver fled from the spot, leaving his vehicle behind. Further probe was on, the official said. (PTI) Three elephants run over by train in ...Read More >
MUMBAI: After the transfer of Mahadevi, an elephant belonging to a Jain shrine in Kolhapur, to Vantara, an animal rescue and rehabilitation initiative by the Reliance Foundation in Jamnagar, those who were unwilling to let go staged a march on Sunday. Thousands of locals and leaders from the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Kolhapur marched for 45 km from the shrine to the collector's office, demanding that Mahadevi be brought back, following which CM Devendra Fadnavis said he would hold a meeting on this on Tuesday. Mahadevi, 36, was transferred from the Swastishri Jinsen Bhattarak Pattacharya Ma ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has done the right thing by ignoring popular sentiment and dismissing an appeal against entrusting the care of an old temple elephant to the care of an animal welfare centre run by the Reliance Foundation. The case of elephant Madhuri is typical of the anthropomorphism that characterises human-animal relationships in India, and the judiciary was right to override human emotions and prioritise animal welfare. Madhuri -- also called Mahadevi -- spent 33 years in captivity at the Shri Jinsen Bhattarak Pattacharya Mahaswami Jain Math in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, after b ...Read More >