Animal lovers of Ahmednagar district are raising concerns over the danger that dry wells without boundary walls pose for wild animals. This comes in after conservationists rescued a full-grown male blackbuck stuck inside a 100-feet deep well after an extensive 30-hour operation, last month. They claim that they receive around one call in two months from villagers informing them about animals that have fallen into dry wells and have hurt themselves.
Fortunately though, the blackbuck, which is listed as ‘near threatened’ by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 escaped the ordeal without any major injuries.
Mandar Sable, a photographer and animal lover from Ahmednagar, has been working for the cause along with other likeminded people under the banner of Nature Lovers Club. Talking about the blackbuck’s rescue, Mr Sable said that he had received a call from the villagers of Valki, a small village 14 kilometres away from Ahmednagar city, about the blackbuck being stuck inside the well. “By the time we reached, the animal was already stressed. We kept trying different techniques to rescue the animal but being agile, it kept jumping out of the platform that we had lowered down into the well. Eventually, we covered the platform with grass to lure him on it and then lifted him out of the well carefully,” said Mr Sable.
However, though the animal escaped unscathed from the incident, animal lovers from the district pointed out that such distress calls have become common off late. “The wells have no boundaries and they are dry due to the drought situation across the state. Animals often fail to notice the well and fall straight into it. We have mostly been using cranes to lift them out of the wells,” said another member of the club.
The group confirmed that they have rescued antelopes, foxes, wild boars and several other animals in tge past few months.
