Keonjhar: A female jumbo raised her trunk to "thank" forest officials for saving her calf, which had been stuck in mudflat in the forest cover near Mashinabila village.

The forest officials and fire fighters had conducted a six-hour-long rescue operation to take the baby calf out of the mudflat.

With the calf back to safety, the mother elephant raised her trunk "as if to thank us for helping her calf", said a forest official.

"The female calf, flanked by her mother, had made their way to a creek to drink water in the forest cover near Mashinabila village of Harichandanpur block when the baby was stuck in the mud and had failed to wriggle out of the mudflat. It had plunged around 4ft deep into the mud," said Sadar forest range officer Ashok Kumar Nayak.

"With the mother elephant keeping watch on the baby from close quarters, rescuing and extending treatment to the calf had become a difficult task. There was every possibility of adult elephant retaliating and attacking the rescue team. We maintained constant watch on both the mother and the baby. The calf was in distressed condition as it had turned enfeebled and lost mobility," he said.

The mother and the calf, which is probably less than two years old, had got separated from a herd of nine elephants presently wandering around their habitation corridors of the Janghira reserve forest. To get the calf out of the mud, fire brigade personnel sprayed water from its tanker. On this, its mother turned furious. "It tried to attack us. As the water was sprayed towards the mother, it retreated and watched the calf from about 300ft distance. Continuous water spraying led to the muddy surface get soft. Then we left the spot and watched from a distance the mother rushing towards its baby. The visibly elated jumbo swiftly dragged her from the muddy surface. After pulling out the calf to safety, the jumbo raised her trunk as if to thank us for helping her calf," the officer said.

The mother and the calf have joined the herd, which includes a tusker. The skilled service group of elephant chasers are keeping round-the-clock watch on the animals. The GPS-tracking teams have spotted their movement in the Janghira forest areas. The rescued calf seems to be in perfect health condition though it's mobility is hindered because of fatigue and exhaustion, he said.