Elephant falls into well in Kerala’s Malappuram, locals oppose its release in same area

An elephant fell into a well in Malappuram district of Kerala on Thursday (January 23, 2025) morning. However, the Forest department is facing difficulties in rescuing the pachyderm as local residents want it to be relocated to deep forest area instead of releasing in the same area again.

The owner of the land at Urangattiri where the well is located and other local residents told the Nilambur DFO that they will not allow anyone to carry out the rescue work till an assurance is given that the elephant will be tranquilised and transported into a deep forest.

Relief for crop loss sought

They also demanded compensation for their crops destroyed by elephants frequenting the area. The DFO said it was not an easy process to tranquilise and relocate the elephant.

Talking to reporters here, he said the feasibility of tranquilising the elephant has to be examined.

He also said that it would be much easier to demolish a part of the well to make way for the elephant to come out and then drive it into the nearby forest.

However, the local residents told the DFO that the elephant would return shortly and therefore, it should be relocated to some other deep forest area.

Responding to this demand, the DFO said a decision would be taken after taking people’s concerns into consideration.