It was a harrowing experience for the Striped hyena which got stuck in a 30-foot-deep open well in Maharashtra’s Buchkewadi village in Junnar division.

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A vigilant villager who had gone to switch the water pump of his well in the fields was shocked to see the hyena trapped inside it. The creature, which was wet and trying desperately to get out, was completely exhausted. He promptly informed the Junnar Range Forest Division who roped in the Wildlife SOS team at Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre for reinforcement.

The four-member rescue team from the NGO arrived at the location and along with Forest Department officials swung into action to rescue the beleaguered animal. A trap cage was lowered into the well and after a few attempts, the hyena successfully entered it. The whole operation lasted for two hours.

The cage was lifted out and the hyena was later released back into a neighbouring forest.

The Wildlife SOS Veterinary Officer, Dr Nikhil Bangar talking about the creature said: “The hyena, suspected to be a female, was exhausted from its struggle to escape out of the well and had sustained minor abrasions on the body. As there were no major injuries and the animal was fit, we released her back into the wild.”

Junnar’s Range Forest Officer, Ajit Shinde observed: “Open wells are a common threat to wildlife around villages, and our teams are always vigilant to provide any assistance when it comes to res-cuing animals in distress.”

The Striped hyena is the only hyena species that is found in the Indian subcontinent. Classified as “Near Threatened” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, it is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and there are less than 10,000 of these in the world.

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