Animals in the wild sometimes need humans’ help. Recently, that happened on the Kuranze Ranch in Kenya. The mixed-use ranch has several wells around the property. A mother elephant and her calf fell into a well. The mom, wholly submerged, could use her trunk like a snorkel. The baby was treading water and was desperately near drowning due to exhaustion. Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT) personnel responded to rescue the elephant and her calf.
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The elephant rescue began with a simple plan. Rescuers needed to get the calf to safety so they could concentrate on helping the mother. For reference, a baby elephant weighs about 250 pounds at birth, and an adult female elephant can weigh up to three to four tons (6,000 to 8,000 pounds).
Using a rope, they wrapped it around the baby elephant behind its front legs. With brute force, the men pulled the baby out of the pit to safety. While the baby elephant rescue was underway, additional workers set up pumps to bring water from another nearby well. By adding water to the well, the hope was that the mother elephant could float until the water level was near the top, and they could drag her out.
Workers safely removed the baby from the well area while they worked on rescuing the mother elephant. Because of her weight, the rescue team knew they couldn’t pull her to safety without mechanical assistance. They worked to get a sling around her. As dusk was approaching, they got a strap around the adult elephant. Using one of their vehicles, they gently pulled her up and over the edge of the embankment.
Once the mother and her calf were safe, they reunited and wandered off together happily.
Checking The Elephants After Rescue
After reuniting the mother elephant and her calf, rescue workers checked on the pair from a helicopter. The pair were spotted walking through scrub and appeared fine after their ordeal.
The mother elephant checked out her calf, and the two went. Shortly after, they were reunited with the rest of their herd. Workers from the SWT will check the pair periodically, but for now, they are safe.
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