GAUHATI, India — A wild elephant stuck for days in a marsh is being tended to by villagers, their own domesticated elephants and now rangers and veterinarians.
The extraction of the 10-year-old elephant is complicated by its injured leg.
The state Forest and Environment Ministry said forest rangers are bringing domesticated elephants to help rescue the trapped male elephant in Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary, 425 miles east of Gauhati, the capital of Assam state.
They’re hoping that treatment of the leg will allow the elephant to get out on its own.
Villagers have been bringing food to the stuck animal. Photos show their domesticated elephants standing by him, sometimes intertwining trunks.
Such events are becoming increasingly common in the state, which has a large population of wild elephants. Many stray from their herds and enter swampy areas or nearby villages in search of food.