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Video of elephant almost getting washed away in Nainital district goes viral
The water was flowing very fast, but the elephant managed to swim back to the bank after it was threatened by the swift currents of Gaula river in Uttarakhand’s Nainital district, forest officials said
An elephant stranded in the middle of a flooded Gaula river in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand on Tuesday managed to swim to safety. The video of the elephant struggling to cross the river has gone viral.
JS Suhag, the chief wildlife warden (Uttarakhand), said as soon the forest officials came to know about the incident, they rushed to the spot. “The water was flowing very fast, but the elephant managed to swim back to the bank. We have alerted our staff in Nainital and surrounding areas including the Corbett landscape to remain alert and initiate rescue operations wherever they find wild animals trapped or stuck,” he said.
People in many villages near the Kosi river around the Corbett Tiger Reserve have been shifted to safer places amid unseasonal rains that have triggered floods in the region. Hotels and resorts near Kosi have also been vacated.
Suhag said the reserve was closed for tourists on Monday amid the rains. “The situation is comparatively better now on the Corbett side. The situation is graver on the Ramgarh side, which is on the right side of the Corbett catchment area. Many people think it is near Corbett, which it is not.”
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Biju Lal, the divisional forest officer (Nainital), said they are on alert since the heavy rains started lashing the district. “Our teams are cutting trees which have fallen on the roads since Monday. So far, we have cut over 15 trees to clear them for traffic.”
AG Ansari, a Ramnagar-based wildlife activist, said after years the Kosi river, meandering through the Corbett, has flooded like this. “Many villagers have voluntarily shifted to safer areas.”
