Sometimes, animals in the wild find themselves in tough situations where they need a helping hand from humans. This was the case recently at Kuranze Ranch in Kenya, a property that is used for multiple purposes and has several wells scattered throughout the area. Unfortunately, a mother elephant and her calf fell into one of these wells. The mother, though fully submerged, managed to survive by using her trunk as a snorkel. Her calf, however, was struggling to stay afloat and was on the verge of drowning due to exhaustion. Thankfully, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT) team quickly arrived on the scene to help.
The rescue plan was straightforward: they had to get the baby elephant out first so that they could focus on saving the mother. Now, to give you some context, baby elephants weigh around 250 pounds at birth, while a fully grown female elephant can tip the scales at anywhere between 6,000 to 8,000 pounds.
The rescuers used a rope and wrapped it around the calf’s body, just behind its front legs. With sheer physical effort, they managed to pull the baby out of the well and to safety. While this was happening, another group of workers set up pumps to transfer water from a nearby well. Their goal was to add water to the well where the mother was trapped so that she could float to a higher level, making it easier to pull her out.
After successfully removing the baby from the immediate danger zone, the team shifted their attention to the mother. They knew that due to her massive size, they couldn’t rely on human strength alone to pull her out. So, they worked on getting a sling around her body. As daylight began to fade, they managed to secure a strap around the adult elephant. Then, using one of their vehicles, they carefully hauled her up and out of the well.
Once both the mother and her calf were safe, they were reunited and joyfully wandered off together.
These abusers are facing numerous charges of animal abuse, but we must also ensure they never own or interact with pets again and receive counseling for their twisted psychological states.
After the rescue, the SWT team didn’t leave things to chance. They followed up by monitoring the mother and her calf from a helicopter. The pair was spotted walking through the scrubland, seemingly in good shape after their ordeal. The mother elephant was seen checking on her calf, and soon after, the two rejoined their herd. SWT staff will continue to keep an eye on them periodically, but for now, they are safe and sound.
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@sheldricktrust It was a life-or-death situation x2: A mother elephant and her tiny calf had fallen into a well; hopelessly stuck within its watery depths. The submerged mum was, using her trunk as a snorkel, while her baby was struggling to keep her head above water. Getting them out was going to be a real mission — but we had a plan. Watch on to see how the mission to rescue mum and baby unfolded. To read the full story, visit: sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/news (And know that this story has a happy ending: Thanks to a Herculean team effort and some outside-the-box thinking, mum and baby were safely reunited on solid ground!) #SheldrickTrust #SWT #kws #elephant #conservation #kenya #babyelephant #water #animalrescue #snorkel #wildlife #sheldrickwildlifetrust #teamwork ♬ Good impression VP company introduction (3 minutes)(983023) – RYOpianoforte