Elephant falls into well in Kerala village, locals demand a permanent fix

After being informed by locals, forest officials rushed to the area and launched a mission to pull the elephant out of the deep well.

A wild elephant, which strayed into a human settlement, fell into a well in a forest fringe hamlet near Kothamangalam in Kerala's Ernakulam district on Sunday.

The elephant was found inside the well, located in the compound owned by a resident of Kottappadi. (X)

The tusker was found inside the well, located in the compound owned by Varghese, a resident of Kottappadi, in the morning.

In the television visuals, it could be seen that the animal was standing in the muddy water inside the well, which has no compound wall.

After being informed by local people, forest officials rushed to the area and launched a mission to pull the elephant out of the deep well.

Meanwhile, villagers staged a protest in the area demanding a permanent solution to resolve the recurring incidents of human-animal conflicts.

"This area used to witness the straying of wild animals, especially elephants. Our crops are being destroyed, and our safety is at stake," a villager said.

The protesters demanded that the forest officials not release the elephant into any nearby area, as it would return to the same place.

They also asked the officials to shift it to some faraway wildlife sanctuaries.