A three- or four-day-old elephant calf was crossing the Teesta River with its herd in West Bengal, India, when the current swept it away.
The incident began near the Gajoldoba barrage. Tapan Das, a local sluice gate operator, spotted the calf in the water right at the crossing. According to The Hindu, Das immediately raised the gate so the calf would not be driven into the concrete structure as it was swept downstream.
That’s when word went out to the local fishermen on the water.
Accounts differ on how many men went after it, but a widely shared post credited five men: Bablu Das, Mithun Das, Kader Das, Biswanath Das, and Gopal Das. Meanwhile, some local Indian outlets reported two fishermen.
The men chased the calf down the river in small dinghies, following it for about two miles before catching it and hauling it aboard. Three of the men swam alongside the vessel while the others brought it to shore.
By then, the calf had been carried roughly three miles from its herd.
“The current was very strong, and the calf was helpless,” onlooker Rajkumar Roy told Newsflare.
The fishermen handed the calf over to the Indian Forest Service. According to WION, wildlife officials emphasize minimizing human contact with rescued calves. Forest personnel took over the rescue, launched a search for the herd, and located them several miles upstream.
About two hours after the rescue, officials returned the calf. Video of the release shows the animal trumpeting as its mother wrapped her trunk around it. She nursed it, and they rejoined the herd.
Indian Forest Service officer Mudit Kumar Verma shared footage of the rescue on X.
“Our Forest team, with the help of local fishermen, rescued the drowning calf and reunited it with its mother,” Verma wrote. “A beautiful story of rescue and reunion.”
