Tragic death of a female elephant in a well

Jagannath Chatterjee:

A female elephant, named Rohin Singh Munda, died after falling into a 30 feet deep well in Chandil, Jharkhand, on Wednesday night. The 20-year-old elephant was part of a herd that was returning to the forest from the village when she fell into the well, which was hidden by bushes.

The Forest Department officials reached the spot and tried to rescue the elephant by digging a pit with the help of a JCB machine. However, the elephant had suffered severe injuries, including a possible spinal cord fracture, and could not move her hind legs. She succumbed to her pain and internal injuries around 3 pm on Thursday.

Forester Radha Raman Thakur said that there were about 20 elephants in the herd, and they had passed through this route before without any mishap. He said that a team of doctors would visit Anda village on Saturday to conduct a post-mortem examination of the elephant.

The incident has sparked outrage among the wildlife activists, who demanded better protection and management of the elephant corridors in the state. They also urged the authorities to cover the open wells and pits in the agricultural fields to prevent such accidents in the future.