On the mud flats of the Kapani Lagoon in Zambia, Africa a very dramatic rescue recently took place. This particular type of mud in the lagoon can be very deadly to anyone unfortunate enough to fall into it because it tends to dry very quickly and pull you under. Disaster struck when a baby elephant wandered away from the herd and fell into the muddy trap. With the baby crying for help, the mother elephant quickly went to rescue her baby. But she soon became stuck in the deadly mud also. The family herd desperately wanted to help the trapped mother and baby but there was little they could do and they were understandably very wary of the situation. Trapped in the mud and sinking very fast it seemed that they both were doomed to a horrible and untimely death.
Luckily for them a team of conservation workers were alerted to the situation. This team consisted of workers from the South Luangwa Conservation Society and when they arrived they quickly sprang into action. They decided to pull the baby out first and after very carefully avoiding the mother elephant's thrashing trunk, they were able to slip a rope around the baby's stomach. They then pulled the baby out and made several attempts to release it back to the herd. The baby continued to resist the release because it wanted to stay with it's mother. Eventually they were able to drag the baby back to the herd and release it.
Next the group had to decide how to pull out the much heavier mother elephant. This was going to prove to be much more difficult to do. They ended up attaching the rope to a tractor and then to the mother elephant. Even still it was a huge strain to pull the mother out. Eventually they did get her out and she quickly wasted no time to get back to the herd and her precious baby.
This dramatic rescue showed that all though many wild animals in Africa face a lot of danger from humans when it comes to poaching and trophy hunting, there are still those humans that are willing to pull out all the stops in order to help these wild animals survive.
Luckily for them a team of conservation workers were alerted to the situation. This team consisted of workers from the South Luangwa Conservation Society and when they arrived they quickly sprang into action. They decided to pull the baby out first and after very carefully avoiding the mother elephant's thrashing trunk, they were able to slip a rope around the baby's stomach. They then pulled the baby out and made several attempts to release it back to the herd. The baby continued to resist the release because it wanted to stay with it's mother. Eventually they were able to drag the baby back to the herd and release it.
Next the group had to decide how to pull out the much heavier mother elephant. This was going to prove to be much more difficult to do. They ended up attaching the rope to a tractor and then to the mother elephant. Even still it was a huge strain to pull the mother out. Eventually they did get her out and she quickly wasted no time to get back to the herd and her precious baby.
This dramatic rescue showed that all though many wild animals in Africa face a lot of danger from humans when it comes to poaching and trophy hunting, there are still those humans that are willing to pull out all the stops in order to help these wild animals survive.
The mud dries quickly making their mistake harder and the window of time for rescue much shorter
The calf appears to be calling for help while her mother appears resigned to her fate before the rescue gets under way
Although the calf appears to be almost free of the drying mud pool, she looks back to her mother
The focus then turns to the mother elephant who is becoming tired after struggling for so long
She cries out for her baby and the herd who are waiting for her just beyond the trees
A little weak and wobbly, she makes her escape to the delight of everyone who helped
After the long struggle, the mother makes a dash towards her calf and waiting family
Thank God there were people to help these elephants from their horrible predicament. It is so nice to hear of people making a difference in the lives of animals.
Such a great feel good story. If only everyone were so altruistic. If one sees a person or animal in trouble, we, as humans, should do everything in our power to help. Unfortunately.......