Rourkela: A male elephant trapped in a mud-filled pond near a paddy field was rescued Sunday by the Forest department officials at Bhadrapada village under Subdega forest range in Sundargarh district. According to villagers, the elephant had come to the area either in search of standing crops in the field or to quench thirst. However, it slipped into the pond and remained stuck in it all night. It kept on trumpeting after failing to get back up.
Early Sunday morning, villagers spotted the animal and then informed forest officials. At around mid-day forest staff came with an earth mover and exited the elephant by digging a large part on one side of the pond. Only then, the pachyderm managed to come out of the mud-filled pond and go into the forest. Sundargarh DFO Pradeep Mirase confirmed that the elephant was rescued in time.