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Dramatic videos show a wild elephant fighting turbulent waters to swim to dry land amid the recent flooding in Kerala.
According to OnManorama, the tusker had been fighting rapids in the Chalakkudy River for nearly seven hours before swimming to safety.
Torrential downpours on Tuesday had forced the Kerala government to open the Peringalkuthu Dam, flooding the Pillappara bathing ghat around 6am.
The resulting gush of water caught the elephant by surprise, with many locals initially thinking it was a boulder stuck in the river.
A crowd of locals soon gathered by the raging river, with police and firefighters arriving at the scene as well. However, violent waters hindered any official efforts to rescue the tusker.
Thankfully, the elephant was able to swim upstream and onto dry land, where it soon disappeared into the forests at the Ernakulam border.
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According to villagers, the animal is one that frequently strays into villages in the Athirapilly-Vazhachal region.
