A female elephant calf fell into an abandoned septic tank at a tea estate in Jalpaiguri’s Malbazar on Saturday and stayed stuck inside for nearly eight hours before it was winched up to safety with the help of an excavator.

Foresters said a herd was crossing through the Bagrakote tea estate when the seven-year-old fell into the pit. Once the calf was pulled out, it was taken back to the herd.

“We were on way to the plantations to join duty around 6.30am when we heard the shriek of the calf. We ran and spotted the animal inside the tank. It was desperately trying to get out but failed. We then informed the foresters at Targhera Range (under Baikunthapur forest division) who reached the spot soon,” said Dipak Oraon, a worker of the tea garden.

As word spread, several residents gathered to see the calf. Soon, foresters from the Mal wildlife squad, Targhera, Khunia and Chel arrived.

“An elephant herd was wandering in Chel and Targhera forest for past couple of days. When the herd of 30-odd elephants was heading to the Chel forest from Targhera, the calf fell into the abandoned tank,” said a forest official.

After the calf fell, the herd did not move far and was there in the Leesh River tea estate, located nearby. Foresters tried to drag the elephant but could not get it out of the tank. Also, presence of hundreds of curious onlookers affected their work.

“Finally, we called an excavator. It reached the spot and broke one of the walls of the tank. This made the elephant walk out around 2pm,” said Subhajit Maitra, the range officer of Targhera.

After the calf came out, foresters steered it towards the Leesh River Tea Estate where it joined the herd. In the evening, foresters drove the herd to the Targhera forest from the tea garden, said sources.