While the list of species rescued by Animal Rahat runs the gamut from birds to elephants, porcupines had only made the list once—until last month, when we rescued a second one.

Inside the yellow circle in this photo is a porcupine who had fallen down an 80-foot-deep well, which was dry. The porcupine was spotted by a 9-year-old girl, who then informed her father, the property owner, of the animal’s plight. The man told a friend, who then called Animal Rahat. Our rescuers sped to the scene. You may recall that our team members are trained to rappel down sheer drops on ropes, and that’s what they did. At the bottom of the well, they lowered a plastic animal carrier and—after several attempts—got the porcupine to enter it.

After being pulled to safety, this wild animal was extremely stressed, so our team members put the carrier in a shady, isolated spot to give him time to rest and calm down. Meanwhile, they asked the property owner to fence the well, which he agreed to do. That is unusual, as it is expensive and people sometimes steal the fencing material for firewood or construction. Villagers who had gathered to watch the whole affair told our team that porcupines frequented a field about a half mile away, so the team drove the animal to the field and released him there.