Four fishermen rescue newborn elephant swept by Teesta flood in Bengal

While a group of five elephants moved upstream of the Gajoldoba Teesta Barrage, the river's rapid flow carried a newborn calf about four kilometres downstream, leaving it alone in the water. Fishermen Bablu Das, Mithun Das, Kader Das, Biswanath and Gopal saw the calf near the 12th spur of the Teesta and braved the currents, with three of them jumping into the river to hoist the animal onto their small rowboat. After securing the calf, they returned to the bank where forest personnel received it and provided immediate veterinary treatment at the Kathambari range office.

Teams from the Baikunthapur forest division, together with local volunteers, searched for the mother and eventually brought the calf back to a dry river stretch where the herd was sheltering. The mother approached and began nursing the calf, a reunion praised by Baikunthapur DFO Mudit as crucial for the calf’s survival.