This is the amazing story of a forest guard who has made headlines after rescuing a baby elephant from a ditch by carrying it out.
Many were curious as to how he managed to lift the animal that was larger and heavier than himself.
Palanichamy Sarathkumar, 28, the man who weighs 80kg and still managed to carry the 100kg elephant on his back, has received a flood of letters of support.
It was quite hefty. Later, the mother and calf were reunited.
Mr. Sarathkumar is a member of a forest team stationed 50 kilometers (32 miles) from Ooty hill station, close to Mettupalayam, India.
“After the video of me lifting the calf was shown on local TV channels and social media, many called to congratulate me,” he told the BBC.
“Everyone in my village is now asking me the same question. How did you lift an elephant?
“I was scared of losing my balance. But my friends stepped in and restrained the calf a bit and helped me to carry the animal.”
One day, Mr. Sarathkumar received a call as he was leaving for home following a night shift, this led to the rescue.
“The caller informed me that a female elephant was blocking the road near the Vanabhadra Kaliamman temple.”
Using firecrackers, he and his colleagues could force the elephant back into the woods. The group then looked around for other elephants.
“We saw this calf stuck inside a small ditch,” he said. “It was tired and confused, so we moved a big boulder that was blocking its way and brought it out.”
They attempted to reunite the pair after realizing that the calf was the source of the female’s anguish, but the animal was too frail to move.
“Initially, four of us carried the calf,” said Mr. Sarathkumar. “We wanted to take it to the other side of the road to reunite it with its mother. But there was a danger of being attacked as she was still nearby.
“So, instead of all four of us being put at risk, I decided to carry the calf by myself across the road.”
He carried the infant elephant for approximately 50 meters before dropping it off near a watering hole, hoping the mother would discover it.
“We waited many hours, but she didn’t turn up. Sensing our presence might have been making her hesitant, we all withdrew.
“Next day when I went there, the calf wasn’t there. But I could see the pugmarks of a big elephant on the forest floor. It seems they were reunited before dawn and slipped away into the forest.”
Elephants are extremely social, highly developed animals who live in big herds. According to forest officials, if they had not stepped in, the calf would have passed away.
After seeing the human-elephant conflict in Tamil Nadu, Palanichamy Sarathkumar joined the forest department and works in the Anti-Poaching Squad.
