Elephant calf swept away in Teesta rescued by fishermen, reunited with mother

Bablu Das was fishing in the Teesta River on Monday morning (September 21, 2026) when his phone rang. It was the sluice gate operator from the Gajoldoba Teesta Barrage upstream. “An elephant calf is going downstream. Save it,” a man screamed from the other side.

A few minutes earlier, the alert gate operator, Tapan Das, had spotted the four-day-old calf floating down a swirling Teesta and lifted the gate further to prevent it from smashing into the structure.

The calf was crossing the river near the barrage when the strong currents swept it away from the herd. Its mother crossed the river and started a frenetic search for the calf.

The calf waits for its mom on the Teesta riverbed. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement