Footage shows the disoriented elephant emerging from the well and ramming a tractor before returning to the forest.
A representative of the Indian Forest Service has shared footage showing the tense rescue of an elephant that had become trapped in a well in the state of Odisha.
“A tusker rescued from an open well in [the town of] Narla. Well done team Kalahandi North,” Susanta Nanda stated Thursday via X.
The footage, captured from the cab of a tractor used to create a path for the elephant, shows the disoriented animal struggling to regain its footing and ramming the vehicle before trotting into the forest.
Dramatic rescue occurs 25 miles off Sanibel Island as Hurricane Helene strengthens into a Category 4 storm.
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a man and his dog Thursday after the man’s sailboat capsized off Florida in stormy seas caused by Hurricane Helene.
The image atop this post shows the sailor and his dog in lifejackets, with a Coast Guard helicopter crew closing in for the rescue operation.
“USCG Air Station Clearwater saved a man & his dog, Thurs., during Hurricane Helene after his 36-ft sailboat became disabled & started taking on water approximately 25 miles off Sanibel Island,” the Coast Guard’s District Seven announced via X. (Click here to view video of the rescue.)
The agency provided the following information to others who might find themselves in trouble on the water: “Call the USCG for help on VHF Ch. 16 or dial 911 for storm distress.”
Hurricane Helene had strengthened into an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm as it approached Florida’s northwest coast.
Heavy rain and flooding were occurring throughout the southeastern U.S. and potentially deadly storm surges are expected before and during landfall late Thursday in the Florida Big Bend region.
According to the National Hurricane Center, “Helene is expected to turn northwestward and slow down over the Tennessee Valley on Friday and Saturday.”
The young raptor, found with a broken femur near a popular Tennessee lake, underwent surgery Friday.
An officer with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency helped rescue a bald eagle last week after receiving reports of an injured raptor near a popular reservoir.
“Justin Pinkston picked up this injured bald eagle from Douglas Lake and transported it to the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, [which] is treating it for a fractured femur,” the TWRA stated Thursday via Facebook.
It’s not clear how the eagle became injured, but a vehicle strike is possible.
The image shared by the TWRA, showing a large eagle being held by Pinkston, might have some wondering why the eagle’s head is not white. (Some on social media misidentified the bird as a golden eagle.)
The TWRA explained that despite the eagle’s size, it’s still a juvenile, and added: “Bald eagles usually get their white heads when they are between four and five years old.”
Surgery goes well
According to Danielle Tarbert, assistant clinical professor of zoological medicine at the UTCVM, the eagle underwent what appears to have been a successful surgery on Friday.
The surgery, to repair the broken femur (thigh bone) with stabilizing pins, lasted 1.5 hours. The accompanying x-ray image, showing the pins, was provided by the UTCVM.
Sandra Harbison, spokeswoman for the UTCVM, told FTW Outdoors that the female eagle weighs 8.8 pounds. Harbison said it’s too early to tell if she’ll recover sufficiently to be released back into the wild.
In good hands
The UTCVM has vast experience treating birds of prey and recently performed cataract surgery on Challenger, billed as the country’s “most famous bald eagle educational ambassador.”
Challenger was blown from his nest as a chick in 1989 and cared for briefly by good samaritans. The male eagle was ultimately deemed “unreleasable” because he had become habituated to people.
Challenger is trained to free-fly, however, and as part of his ambassador duties he has conducted flyovers at several major spectator events.
They include the World Series, NFL Pro Bowls, NCAA football championships, the Daytona 500, and a presidential inauguration.
They grow so fast
A wingspan measurement of the newly rescued eagle was not provided to FTW Outdoors. But at 8.8 pounds the young raptor is hefty when you consider that adult bald eagles typically weigh between 6.5 and 14 pounds.
Bald eagle x-ray after surgery to repair broken femur.
In fact, juvenile bald eagles often appear larger than adults because they boast longer wing and tail feathers, according to the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey.
From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: “Immature Bald Eagles spend the first four years of their lives in nomadic exploration of vast territories and can fly hundreds of miles per day. Some young birds from Florida have wandered north as far as Michigan, and birds from California have reached Alaska.”
Comeback story
Bald eagle numbers, once depleted to where sightings across North America were considered rare, rebounded impressively after the use of DDT was banned in 1972, and thanks to Endangered Species Act protections between 1978 and 2007.
However, bald eagles still face many human-related threats, which include vehicle strikes.
A woman who left during a one-day van tour in the iconic park and didn’t return was rescued the following day from a steep, loose ridge.
A woman who left during a one-day van tour of Death Valley National Park and didn’t return was rescued the following day from a steep, loose ridge.
The 31-year-old Canadian was part of a tourist group that traveled from Las Vegas to the iconic park on May 9. The van stopped at Artists Palette and tourists were given 20 minutes to return to the van. The woman never returned.
After an unsuccessful search, the tour guide drove to Furnace Creek to report her missing.
Park rangers searched the area throughout the afternoon and early evening of May 9, then resumed the search the next morning. A park ranger spotted the woman on an unstable ridge north of Artists Palette.
The steep terrain forced officials to call in a California Highway Patrol helicopter to hoist her from the ridge to safety.
Others on the tour told officials that the woman had stated she was going to Death Valley for “spiritual reasons.” The fact she tipped the tour guide at the start of the tour led rangers to believe she had planned to leave the tour before it’s conclusion.
“The woman later told park rangers she had intended to climb up the slope, wander into the desert and not return,” stated the press release from Death Valley. “She appeared to be experiencing an emotional crisis.
“If you or someone you know is in emotional crisis, dial 988 for free and confidential support from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The toll-free lifeline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The service is available to anyone, and all calls are confidential.”
A dog that fell 300 feet from a cliff in Oregon has been reunited with its owners, thanks to a heroic helicopter rescue by the United States Coast Guard.
A dog that fell 300 feet from a cliff in Oregon has been reunited with its owners, thanks to a dramatic helicopter rescue this week by the U.S. Coast Guard.
USCG Air Station Astoria was involved in the rescue, which entailed an airlift of the injured dog, named Leo, at Ecola State Park near Cannon Beach.
The accompanying footage shows Leo – appearing injured and scared, but alert – being comforted by one of the rescuers before being hoisted with the rescuer to the helicopter.
USCG Air Station Astoria started off 2024 with the rescue of Leo the dog that fell from a 300-ft cliff in Ecola State Park, near Cannon Beach, OR.
A rhinoceros calf that was left to fend for itself after poachers in South Africa killed its mother has been rescued via helicopter and taken to a rhino orphanage.
When poachers kill rhinos for their horns, calves that are left behind are almost certain to perish. But for one newly orphaned calf, there’s hope for recovery and, eventually, a return to the wild.
According to the nonprofit, African Wildlife Vets, a ranger and veterinarian for Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park in South Africa spotted the de-horned rhino carcass this week while conducting an aerial search for buffalo.
Wandering nearby was the 6-week-old male rhino calf.
African Wildlife Vets described what happened next on Facebook:
“Dr. Rowan Leeming immobilized the small calf and they placed it on the back seat of the helicopter. The calf was rushed to the Zululand Rhino Orphanage where he was given a drip to rehydrate him and rhino plasma to strengthen his immune system.
“The experienced team at the orphanage will do everything they can to ensure his recovery and then his well being until he is old enough to be released back into the wild.”
Zululand Rhino Orphanage has shared photos and videos via Instagram showing the baby rhino, blindfolded to keep him calm, receiving care from staff.
Rhinos are poached for their keratin-rich horns, which are sold in Asian markets and used largely for medicinal purposes.
Rhinoceros populations have been decimated – about 27,000 wild rhinos exist globally, down from 70,000 in 1970 – and few rhinos survive outside national parks and reserves.
The intentional removal of rhino horns by conservations inside reserves is now a common method designed to keep the animals safe from poachers.
A deer with part of its snout stuck inside a Gatorade bottle has been tranquilized and rescued by Georgia wildlife biologists.
A deer with part of its snout stuck inside a Gatorade bottle has been tranquilized and rescued by Georgia wildlife biologists.
The accompanying footage shows the doe approaching biologists on a road, and the successful darting effort. Images show the tranquilized deer, biologists at work, and the bottle after it was removed.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources stated Tuesday via Facebook that the bottle, stuck to the top portion of the doe’s snout, had been cutting into the animal’s skin.
“With the assistance of a resident putting out corn for a number of days to draw the doe back into the area, staff were able to dart the deer, remove the bottle and treat the doe’s wounds,” the DNR stated.
“The deer was released on site and was last seen headed back towards her fawn.”
A dive instructor in Hawaii capped a recent expedition by saving the life of juvenile shark in a dramatic rescue that was caught on video.
A dive instructor in Hawaii capped a recent expedition by saving the life of juvenile whitetip shark in a dramatic rescue that was caught on video.
The accompanying footage, captured by Rachel Gillis, shows the shark tethered to a coral head by fishing line, with the hook attached to a steel leader in its mouth.
Prutow hoped to remove the hook, but the shark became aggressive during the effort.
“Initially I thought I could try and unhook the shark as it was obviously in distress and not moving,” Prutow told FTW Outdoors. “It was tangled and pinned to the coral head with wrapped line. I wasn’t too thrilled with that [first] attempt so I had to back off and wait for it too settle to try and cut the line as close to it’s mouth as possible.”
Prutow added: “It was a little sketchy, but I was confident I could help without getting hurt.”
In the video the shark swims away after the leader was cut. Prutow said he expects the hook to work its way from the shark’s mouth over time.
Kate and Jaycee Butler are the divers observing the rescue in the video.
Kate described the encounter: “Our group of four divers were about five minutes from the end of the dive when we came across this juvenile whitetip shark. It took a moment to register why it was not swimming off. Once I realized what I was looking at, my heart sank. It was entangled and could barely move.
“Dave didn’t hesitate and immediately went to work. At one point in the process, the shark came back to life and it looked like Dave might get bit as he worked to remove the hook and cut the line. It was a huge sigh of relief when we could see the line was finally cut with no injury to Dave or the shark, and the shark had enough energy to swim off towards the deep.
“That shark would surely have died had we not come across it.”
A Washington family has been ridiculed after driving into the wilderness in severe weather to look for a Christmas tree, resulting in a dangerous search-and-rescue effort.
A Washington family was ridiculed after driving into the forest in severe weather to look for a Christmas tree, prompting a dangerous search-and-rescue effort.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police on Friday titled its news release, “Griswold Family Rescue.”
The reference to “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” a 1989 comedy film starring Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold, might be understandable to some.
The unidentified family ventured into the Blue Mountains despite a weather forecast calling for up to 18 inches of snow. A prominent road closure sign was ignored. The family did not pack suitable clothing or tire chains.
The Asotin County Sheriff’s Office received the emergency call Saturday evening and requested assistance from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The WDWF’s “Sergeant Mosman” led a rescue operation that involved volunteers and the use of snowmobiles.
“They were able to use WDFW snowmobiles to locate the vehicle containing the family of five, along with their large dog,” the WDFW stated. “They also found another family member and his truck buried in a drift, about halfway to the location who had attempted to rescue them as well but had gotten stuck.
“They spent about two and half hours shuttling the family out of the area in whiteout conditions.”
All ended well, except that both vehicles had to be left behind, perhaps until spring, and the frightened dog peed on Sergeant Mosman’s lap during the snowmobile ride.
The news release was posted to Facebook, where most comments were mostly congratulatory toward the agency, although not everybody appreciated the Griswold analogy.
A mule deer rescued in mid-October after its head became ensnared in string has a new lease on life and a sporty new appearance.
A mule deer that was rescued in mid-October after its head and antlers became ensnared in string has a new lease on life and a sporty new appearance.
“Remember the mule deer that got tangled in some string a couple weeks ago? Well, look at him now with his all-new bling (GPS collar),” the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources wrote Friday on Facebook. “Check out this wildlife before and after!”
The deer was tranquilized and fitted with a collar after residents of Parowan reported seeing a buck “with an unidentifiable mass of string caught in its antlers,” the UDWR stated on Oct. 13. “The buck was not able to see through what we suspect was a tangled hammock.”
Reaction to Friday’s post, showing a side-by-side, then-and-now image, might not be what some expected.
While some comments were congratulatory, others were from people wondering whether it’s OK to shoot the buck during hunting season.
“So if we do shoot a collared deer & report it, we won’t be harassed?” one person asked. “I mean you collar a big deer like that, that may be one in a lifetime for me. Ima shoot it!”
The UDWR responded with an answer that might surprise some of its followers, stating that the collared buck is fair game during hunting season.
“We encourage hunters not to shoot collared deer,” the agency wrote. “But if you do just make sure to report it so we can pick up the collar and reuse it.”
–Image courtesy of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
