To Rescue Leopard Stuck In Well, Forest Officer Enters 100-Foot Dry Well In A Cage
The officer, Siddaraju, locked himself inside a cage with just a torch and his mobile phone, in order to rescue a leopard that was allegedly stuck inside a 100-ft dry well in HD Kote, Mysuru in Karnataka.
A forest official from Mysuru won several hearts when he decided to enter a 10-foot-deep dry well, to save a leopard. Needless to say, it is not an easy task, not to mention, dangerous. But for this official, the safety of the villagers was of utmost importance.
TOI
According to reports, the forest officer named Siddaraju, locked himself inside a cage with just a torch and his mobile phone, in order to rescue a leopard that was allegedly stuck inside a 100-foot dry well in HD Kote, Mysuru, in Karnataka. Despite the search effort, he could not find it.
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Parveen Kaswan, IFS posted pictures of the rescue operations on Twitter saying, "He is Siddarju, RFO from Nagarhole. He entered 100ft dry well to rescue a leopard. By locking himself in a metal cage with a torch and his mobile phone in hand, entered a dry well to rescue a leopard. This is what commitment looks like. Proud of such green soldiers."
He is Siddarju, RFO from Nagarhole. He entered 100ft dry well to rescue a leopard. By locking himself in a metal cage with a torch and his mobile phone in hand, entered a dry well to rescue a leopard. This is what commitment looks like. Proud of such green soldiers. pic.twitter.com/HBJokpdDOd
¡ª Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) July 20, 2020
As per a report in The Times of India, Nagarahole Tiger Reserve director, D Mahesh Kumar, said that he had received complaints from locals about a leopard that had fallen into the well.
That's courageous. But, entering 100ft deep narrow well with no oxygen supplying equipments could be life threatening.
¡ª The Rebellion (@The_Rebelllion_) July 20, 2020
We have seen such cases in past where people have died in well due to lack of sufficient oxygen.
Courage must be equipped with proper equipments. pic.twitter.com/lbHWfbFm6z
Soon after the pictures went viral, many criticised the lack of proper equipment available to forest officials and rangers who are tasked with managing human-animal conflict.
TOI
Dr Mahesh Kumar told TOI, that the villagers have been requesting the gram panchayat to close the wells with a metal mesh, for years, but to no avail. There are three other open wells in the village and residents constantly fear accidents due to the same.
After efforts to look for the Leopard failed, forest staffers returned to their work stations late at night, only to be called back again after some villagers spotted the big cat lurking in the dark.
Also Read: Second Alleged 'Man Eater' Leopard Shot Dead In Uttarakhand In A Week, One More In The Hit-List
