THE HINDU (Chennai, India) 01 January 07 Crocodile in farmer's well (R. Ilangovan)
Photo: A crocodile rescued from a well in Taramangalam near Salem on Sunday.
Taramangalam: A farmer jumped up in fright when he looked into his well three days ago. Gurunatha Gounder wanted to assess the quantity of water for irrigating his field in MGR Nagar in this temple town, when he saw the strange reptile slashing about in the 50 feet deep well, which had 20 feet water. He immediately informed the police who alerted fire service personnel and forest officials. They tried to ensnare the 5-foot-long reptile, which weighed 17 kg.
They finally resorted to pumping out water. After three days of hectic work, a crack team of fire service personnel and forest officials got into slushy knee-deep water, put a noose around the reptile and hauled it up. A forest official told The Hindu that it was a fresh water crocodile and it would be sent either to Kurumpapatti Zoological Park in Salem or to the Hogenekal crocodile farm.
What perplexed everyone was that how the crocodile strayed into the well, which was not close to any stream or river.
Crocodile in farmer's well