Drowning Baby Elephant Saved By Man, And His Herd Turned Around To Do The Unexpected
Elephants are not only gigantic but also intelligent and deeply sentimental animals. When a baby elephant is in distress, adult ones will do anything in their ability to help...but when they fail, it is humans who step in.
Such was the case when a newborn elephant found itself in a pickle at Addo Elephant National Park and needed to be rescued.
This newborn elephant ended up in a little mud and muck pit. Climbing out proved to be far more difficult than the tiny one had anticipated.
The rest of the herd flocked around to assist the young one. They could only spray water around the sides to make it easier to get out, which didn't help much.
Because there were no walls or borders in this park, anyone attempting to interfere would have nothing between them and the elephants. When elephants become defensive, few animals dare cross them. This created a challenge for anyone attempting to assist the little elephant. However, the staff decided to give it a shot.
They drove up to the herd's location and attempted to dig out enough of the pit for the youngster to get out. It didn't work out so well.
In fact, it went horribly wrong. That made matters worse.
The herd crowded around the newborn in fear, forcing it further into the water. Thus, it's time to make a fresh plan. That infant was now in deeper water. Time was never on their side to begin with, and it has only gotten worse.
What was their new strategy? For one thing, it's hazardous. That entailed chasing the adults away with their patrol vehicles. A fully grown African wild elephant weighs more than 6 metric tons. A very massive one can weigh as much as 7-8 tons. Chasing an adult elephant in a car may go one of two ways. The elephant fleeing, or the car and everyone inside getting crushed.
Fortunately, things did not turn out like the second possibility.
The elephants bolted, giving the rangers plenty of time to pull the calf from the water. A newborn elephant is still rather large in its own right.
The park personnel heaved and yanked the 200-pound baby from the water. The worst has passed. The little elephant is safe. Except that the infant didn't want to leave their side. It seemed that the rescuers really sold the little one on the fact that they were his buddies.
It wasn't until the mother shouted for her baby that it ran back to her. A beautiful conclusion to the story, but that's still not the end of it! Because what the elephants did next took the wholesomeness of the story to a new height.
Like in an emotional ending scene of a movie, the herd of elephants began trumpeting in thanks to the rangers.
But is it truly strange? Elephants are highly intelligent and emotional animals, they definitely knew what the humans had just done for them, out of nothing but goodwill, so perhaps such a beautiful gesture of gratitude was to be expected.
The Addo Elephant National Park contains dozens of African elephants. Do note that there are two kinds of African elephants. The smaller species, Loxodona cyclotis, is called the forest elephant. They’re about half the size of their larger sister species, getting up to 4 tons. That’s still plenty big. And the other species is the one we’re all familiar with for its humungous size and iconic head shape: the bush elephant, aka Loxodonta africana.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider pressing Like and sharing it. Follow our website for more wholesome animal stories like this.
Such was the case when a newborn elephant found itself in a pickle at Addo Elephant National Park and needed to be rescued.
Source: Youtube screenshot-Animal Soul
This newborn elephant ended up in a little mud and muck pit. Climbing out proved to be far more difficult than the tiny one had anticipated.
Source: Youtube screenshot-Animal Soul
The rest of the herd flocked around to assist the young one. They could only spray water around the sides to make it easier to get out, which didn't help much.
Because there were no walls or borders in this park, anyone attempting to interfere would have nothing between them and the elephants. When elephants become defensive, few animals dare cross them. This created a challenge for anyone attempting to assist the little elephant. However, the staff decided to give it a shot.
Source: Youtube screenshot-Animal Soul
They drove up to the herd's location and attempted to dig out enough of the pit for the youngster to get out. It didn't work out so well.
In fact, it went horribly wrong. That made matters worse.
Source: Youtube screenshot-Animal Soul
The herd crowded around the newborn in fear, forcing it further into the water. Thus, it's time to make a fresh plan. That infant was now in deeper water. Time was never on their side to begin with, and it has only gotten worse.
What was their new strategy? For one thing, it's hazardous. That entailed chasing the adults away with their patrol vehicles. A fully grown African wild elephant weighs more than 6 metric tons. A very massive one can weigh as much as 7-8 tons. Chasing an adult elephant in a car may go one of two ways. The elephant fleeing, or the car and everyone inside getting crushed.
Source: Youtube screenshot-Animal Soul
Fortunately, things did not turn out like the second possibility.
The elephants bolted, giving the rangers plenty of time to pull the calf from the water. A newborn elephant is still rather large in its own right.
Source: Youtube screenshot-Animal Soul
The park personnel heaved and yanked the 200-pound baby from the water. The worst has passed. The little elephant is safe. Except that the infant didn't want to leave their side. It seemed that the rescuers really sold the little one on the fact that they were his buddies.
It wasn't until the mother shouted for her baby that it ran back to her. A beautiful conclusion to the story, but that's still not the end of it! Because what the elephants did next took the wholesomeness of the story to a new height.
Source: Youtube screenshot-Animal Soul
Like in an emotional ending scene of a movie, the herd of elephants began trumpeting in thanks to the rangers.
Source: Youtube screenshot-Animal Soul
But is it truly strange? Elephants are highly intelligent and emotional animals, they definitely knew what the humans had just done for them, out of nothing but goodwill, so perhaps such a beautiful gesture of gratitude was to be expected.
You can watch the whole story below:
The Addo Elephant National Park contains dozens of African elephants. Do note that there are two kinds of African elephants. The smaller species, Loxodona cyclotis, is called the forest elephant. They’re about half the size of their larger sister species, getting up to 4 tons. That’s still plenty big. And the other species is the one we’re all familiar with for its humungous size and iconic head shape: the bush elephant, aka Loxodonta africana.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider pressing Like and sharing it. Follow our website for more wholesome animal stories like this.
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