Tezpur (Assam): In a daring operation, an adult male tiger which had fallen into an open well, was rescued and released today by  the forest department and the rescue team from International Fund for Animal Welfare and the Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI).

The tiger was noticed by local villagers yesterday morning in a well near Tezpur in the northern Indian Assam state and rescue team swung into action around midday when they were alerted by the forest officials. However, by the time they arrived at the site it had turned dark.

“We could reach the spot only by the evening and tried to rescue the tiger. But as it was getting dark, we had to abandon our attempts,” said Dr Abhijit Bhawal.

The operation was resumed this morning. Dr Prasanta Boro, veterinarian, Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), run by WTI and its partner International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), sedated the tiger with a dart.

Following the sedation, Dr Bhawal along with Lakhiram Das, animal keeper at CWRC, entered the well and created a sling with a rope around the tiger’s body. A crane was then used to pull the tiger out of the well.

The tiger was checked for injuries, put into a cage and moved to Nameri National Park. It was released late in the evening.

“This was an amazing rescue,” an exhilarated Dr Boro said. “We had to cross through Jia Bhoroli river on boats; the tiger was waking up, growling and getting violent, which did not help our nerves in the least.”

The rescue team also included Satya Prakash Vashishth, Divisional Forest Officer of Tezpur, Mr Gogoi, Range Officer, Dilip Deori, Field Officer, WTI, veterinarians Parag Deka and Binay Barman, and other forest department staff.

Where the tiger came from was, however, a mystery. “We do not know exactly how it fell into the well, but there was no apron at the mouth, so I am not surprised,” Dr Boro said.

Rathin Barman, coordinator, WTI said, “There was flash flood in the Nameri National Park which is 30 kilometers away, just two days ago and 40% of the area was submerged. The tiger could have been displaced by the flood.”