Berhampur: A team of forest officials and local fishermen stepped in at the right time to save a two-year-old female elephant calf from drowning in the Daha reservoir on the state's Ganjam-Kandhamal border.

"Though we have rescued the elephant from 30ft deep water, it has got separated from its herd. We are trying to reunite it with the herd," said assistant conservator of forests, Ghumsar north division, Sudarshan Badi.

The 5ft tall elephant calf fell into the reservoir while drinking water. On getting information about an elephant struggling to survive in water, a team of forest employees and fishermen rushed into the reservoir with four fishing boats.

"We drove out the elephant from the reservoir to a nearby feeder canal using hooters. The elephant has managed to come out of water and escape into the forest that falls under Phulbani division," said Badi.

However, the herd of 11 elephants to which the calf belonged are in Laharkhola in Babili Reserve Forest, which is 3km from the Daha reservoir.

"On Monday we have managed to trace the elephant calf. About 20 forest staff of Ghumsar north division and Phulbani will try to drive it towards Laharkhola, where the herd is stationed," said Badi.

He suspected that the calf got trapped when it had come to drink water at the reservoir in the night. The herd must have had tried to rescue the calf, but left when it could not.

Local residents had informed forester Anil Kumar Panda that a herd consisting of 11 elephants had crossed the Daha-Babili Road at 9.30am on Sunday.

"But we swung into action at 3pm when some fishermen informed us that an elephant calf was struggling to come of the Daha reservoir. We had rescued the elephant from the reservoir by evening," Panda said. Locals recalled an earlier incident of a herd rejecting a calf after it was rescued from a pit it had fallen into. The calf had eventually died of starvation.

Fearing that the two-year-old elephant might meet the same fate, they demanded that the calf should be sent to Nandankanan zoo.However, a forest official said they were keeping a close watch on the elephant. "If the herd doesn't accept the young elephant, it will be sent to Nandankanan," he said.