Photos: Huge Elephant Is Rescued From Hole by Villagers in India
25 Aug 201811:09 AM
Photos: Huge Elephant Is Rescued From Hole by Villagers in India
Daily Mail
A huge elephant was rescued from a mud pit after it slipped into it after the slippery edge gave way under its weight.


Touching photos show the moment villagers try to haul him out with ropes before excavators with a JCB were called to dig him out.

Shivasankaran the tusker elephant was taken to have a bath in a rainwater tank in the town of Pathanamthitta in southern India.

The huge mammal saw a muddy pit nearby and went to drink water from it, but was too heavy for the soft ground around it.

The elephant struggled frantically to make a way out for itself but slipped back repeatedly due to its heavy weight.

Appu the dog which accompanied the beast kept barking until the mahout who looked after him came to help.


Villagers arrived with an excavator to dig Shivasankaran out but the machinery also got bogged in the muddy ground, making it useless. 

They eventually got a bigger excavator that could be positioned on firmer ground and finally freed the stricken elephant uninjured.

Dozens of villagers grabbed ropes they tied around the elephant in an effort to haul him out of the pit while hundreds of others watched on.

Appu never left his big companion's side as the rescue was underway, prompting villages to call Shivasankaran a 'big guy with a little friend'.