Dharmapuri, India: A wild elephant that fell into a well in southern India was lifted out with a crane following a 16-hour rescue mission involving dozens of rangers and firefighters.
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The elephant fell more than 20 metres after it wandered into a village in Tamil Nadu state last week while looking for food.
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"Villagers heard sounds and saw the animal had fallen into the well," said local forest ranger Rajkumar.
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He said they believed it might have been trying to escape from a pack of dogs.
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Frightened at first, villagers called authorities when they realised it could die unless rescued.
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Some 50 rangers and firefighters rushed to the village, where they initially tried to pump water out of the well - but the scared creature kept pushing away the equipment they were using.
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The rescuers then tried shooting the 2.4-metre elephant with tranquilliser darts. "Out of the three times we tried, we succeeded twice," Rajkumar said.
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As night fell, watched on by a large crowd of villagers, rescuers climbed down into the well and attached straps to the sedated animal's feet. They then used a crane to hoist the elephant out upside down.
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It was monitored by rangers for half an hour before being ushered back into the forest.
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India is home to nearly 30,000 elephants, around 60 percent of the wild Asian elephant population.
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A rescued female elephant calf after it fell in an open well at Panchapalli village, in Dharmapuri district.
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