Chhattisgarh: Mammoth rescue operation on after 4 elephants fall into sanctuary well
Excavators have been deployed to make a ramp from the well to enable the elephants to climb out safely while forest personnel were monitoring the situation
Four elephants fell into a well inside the Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary in Chhattisgarh’s Balodabazar-Bhatapara district on Tuesday morning, prompting forest authorities to launch a rescue operation.
Principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Arun Kumar Pandey said the well at Hardi village within the sanctuary had no boundary wall. He added top officials and rescue teams rushed to the site after residents spotted the struggling elephants and informed the forest department.
Excavators have been deployed for a ramp along the side of the well to enable the elephants to climb out safely. Officials said forest personnel were monitoring the situation closely to ensure the animals were rescued without injury.
Efforts are also underway to cover open wells across forest areas with iron grills using Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority funds to prevent such incidents in the future.
The Wildlife Institute of India’s All-India Synchronous Elephant Estimation, 2025, found there were 22,446 elephants in the country, almost 17% lower than the 2017 estimate.
The Western Ghats are home to the highest number of elephants (11,934), followed by the north-eastern hills and Brahmaputra floodplains with 6,559. The Shivalik Hills and Gangetic plains support 2,062 elephants, while Central India and the Eastern Ghats have 1,891.
The estimation exercise found that the once-contiguous elephant population in the Western Ghats was rapidly disconnecting due to changing land use, including expanding commercial plantations, invasive plants, farmland fencing, human encroachment, and mushrooming developmental projects.
