Seoni: A sub-adult tigress and a wild boar fell into a well after a chase by the predator went wrong in the buffer area of the Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni district on Tuesday, a senior forest department official said.

After a four-hour-long operation, the tigress, aged around three years, and the wild boar were safely rescued from the well by the forest department using a hydraulic machine, he said.

The incident occurred near Hardua village in the Khawasa buffer area when the tigress went after her prey, a wild boar, the reserve’s deputy director, Rajnish Kumar Singh, said.

The hunting chase went wrong and the tigress slipped into the well. The wild boar also ended up in the same water body while trying to escape the attack, he said.

After the tigress was spotted struggling in the water, a cot was lowered into the well with the help of a rope and the wild animal sat on it.

Throughout the rescue operation, the tigress and the wild boar remained calm.

A rescue team put a cage into the well with a hydraulic crane and captured the tigress safely. The wild boar was also rescued in the same way, he said.

Around 60 rescuers were involved in the operation to save the two wild animals, informed the PTR deputy director.

Madhya Pradesh’s Chief Wildlife Conservator has directed to release the tigress in the Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary under the Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve of Sagar district, Singh said.