Viral Throwback Photo Shows Forest Guard Carrying Baby Elephant on His Shoulder

The stories of humans coming to elephants' rescue and vice versa have often hit the headlines. A throwback picture of one such incident is doing rounds on social media. The image was shared by an Indian Forest Service official named Dipika Bajpai on Twitter.

In the snap, a forest guard can be seen carrying a baby elephant on his shoulders to reunite it with its mother.

According to a BBC report, the incident occurred in December 2017 in Tamil Nadu. The forest guard named Palanichamy Sarathkumar received a call from a person informing him of an elephant blocking the road. Sarathkumar, along with his colleagues, reached the spot and forced the jumbo to go back to the jungle. But, the entire rescue team soon discovered a calf stuck inside a ditch and realised the reason for the elephant’s distress.

The team then rescued the baby elephant from the trench, but it was too weak to walk, forcing Sarathkumar to carry the little jumbo on his shoulders to reunite it with its mother.

The flashback picture has gone viral since it was shared. It has received over 2, 000 likes and over 200 retweets. Twitteratis have applauded the forest guard, with one user saying, “Never seen before a man holding an elephant's calf on the shoulder. It seems he is a true worker from the heart. Good work. A rare pic to see.”

Another user said, “India is the land of humanity and kindness... Really this fellow is hero.”