The video of the rescue operation has garnered a lot of praise on social media.
Forest officials in West Bengal's Midnapur have rescued an elephant from a ditch “by applying Archimedes' principle”. The operation showed how science and innovative thinking can help surmount challenges.
Indian Forest Service officer Parveen Kaswan has shared a video of the entire incident on Twitter. He said that the night-time rescue operation was completed successfully in three hours.
“An elephant fell into a ditch in Midnapur. Now, how to rescue it. By applying Archimedes' principle. Watch to believe,” the tweet read.
As it was not possible to pull the elephant using ropes, the officials and locals decided to fill the ditch with water. As the water level rose, the elephant was able to swim. Soon, the elephant was able to hold on to the ground. People at the site then supported the animal's effort, to climb out of the ditch, using ropes and bamboo.
In a follow-up tweet, Mr Kaswan said, “The information was received by the Forest Department at 1 am. By 4 am, the rescue was completed successfully.”
Mr Kaswan also gave a quick brief about Archimedes' principle. He wrote, “Archimedes' principle definition: the upward buoyant force that is exerted on a body immersed in a fluid is equal to the weight of the fluid that the body displaces and acts in the upward direction at the center of mass of the displaced fluid.”
The video of the rescue operation has garnered a lot of praise on social media. Till now, it has clocked more than 151k views. A user responded by saying, ”Literally, today, I could understand Archimedes' principle in a real way.”
Another wrote, “Great job. Such deep pits are dangerous for animals at night. Should be covered.”
A few applauded the villagers and forest officials for their “brilliant” work.
Covered by vegetation, elephants often find it difficult to notice these holes in forests and get trapped.