Caught in a crushing ring, a wild jumbo awaits rescue
Attachment
Attachment
Dibrugarh: A wild elephant lumbered through a Golaghat tea estate on Thursday with a heavy tractor tyre lodged around its neck.The elephant was among a herd of four spotted at the tea garden in Numaligarh’s Bokolial area.A video showing the tyre trapped around its neck went viral on social media, alarming residents and wildlife watchers and prompting the forest department to launch a rescue operation.While it is still unclear how the tyre got lodged around the animal’s neck, officials fear it could result in serious injuries if not removed soon.Forest personnel, who are tracking the elephant, as it moves through the tea estate and nearby areas, plan to tranquilise it at a safe location before removing the tyre.Khumtai MLA Mrinal Saikia said he alerted senior officials after receiving the video in the morning.“As soon as I received the video of the elephant, I informed MK Yadava, special chief secretary of environment, forest and climate change department, about the matter. He assured me that the elephant will be tracked and tranquilised and that the tyre will be removed. A team of forest department officials is already trying to track the elephant, which is on the move,” Saikia said.The MLA appealed to the residents not to approach, chase or disturb the animal and to allow forest personnel to remove the tyre safely.Officials also urged the people not to gather near the animal or attempt to intervene.Wild elephants frequently move through tea gardens and other human-dominated areas of Golaghat, bringing them close to settlements, roads and plantations.
