Odisha: Herd of elephants stranded on isle return to safety

Forest officials and locals had been working overtime to ensure the elephants made it out alive.

A herd of eight elephants that had found itself stranded on an island in Odisha’s Keonjhar district since Sunday night managed to make it safely to shore on Tuesday.

The elephants got stranded while trying to rescue a three-month-old calf, caught in a strong river current during heavy rain. Forest officials and locals had been working overtime to ensure the elephants made it out alive.

Forest ranger Muktikanta Ray Mohapatra said the elephants managed to reach the shore after the rain let up and water level in the river subsided. “We used some fireworks to drive them into a nearby forest,” he said.

The herd eventually settled in Atei forest.