Elephant rescued after getting trapped while crossing rail fence at Nagarahole Tiger Reserve

Elephant rescued from rail barrier in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve after nearly an hour, safely returning to the forest.

An elephant, which was stuck for nearly an hour while crossing a rail barrier in the Veeranahosahalli range of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve in Mysuru district, was rescued and relieved of its distress before it safely made its way to the forest, on Sunday (January 5, 2025).

The rescue operation was carried out when national park authorities demolished one of the cement beams to which the rail track was wedged.

The incident occurred near Chikka Hejjuru village in Hanogodu hobli of the Veeranahosahalli range. The plight of the wild tusker came to light around 5:45 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., when forest personnel learned of the elephant’s predicament and rushed to the scene.

The tusker was found thrashing about, trying to extricate itself from the precarious situation. While the elephant was unable to lift its two hind legs over the rail fence, its forelegs were trapped in the slush formed by a nearby water body and its hind part was stuck between two cement pillar barriers..

Authorities deployed heavy earth-moving equipment and demolished one of the cement barriers, which helped loosen the rail fence and also create space for its hind part of the body to pass through. This allowed the elephant to free itself and run toward the forest, wagging its tail in relief.

Ms. P.M. Seema, Director of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, stated that the elephant likely struggled for about an hour before being rescued. “It was a radio-collared tusker, whose movement was being monitored. Upon learning of its situation, we assembled the staff and rushed heavy machinery to the spot. The operation was completed in about an hour,” she added. Ms. Seema also mentioned that the gap created by the removal of the cement barrier was being plugged.

The rail fence is one of the measures implemented by the Karnataka government to prevent elephants from crossing into villages bordering forest areas, in a bid to reduce human-elephant conflict, which is prevalent in the region. There have been multiple incidents in the past where elephants attempted to cross the barrier and became stuck, unable to free themselves. While timely interventions have successfully rescued some elephants, there have been cases in which elephants have died before help could arrive.