A baby elephant was rescued with just minutes to spare after spending over 12 hours stuck in a mudpool.

The young bull was spotted with mud up to its neck by a group of tourists on safari along the Zambezi River in Africa.

When the rescue team arrived it became apparent that they needed to act quickly as the baby pachyderm struggled to free its trunk and was close to drowning.

Bradley White and his wife Annelize, owners of the nearby Imbabala Zambezi Safari Lodge in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe heard the call for help over the radio and immediately came to the aid of the young elephant.

After gathering a rescue team, they made several attempts to pull it from the mud before eventually setting it free.

Mr White said it was likely the elephant had become trapped the evening before and after surviving for more than 12 hours wouldn't have lasted much longer.

He said: 'Elephants are particularly drawn to these areas and when moving towards the luscious vegetation they become stuck and sink deep into the mud, causing them to dehydrate and loose blood circulation to their legs.'


'If they're not found these animals will eventually die or be eaten alive by vultures, hyenas or any other predator that may be drawn to the petrified screams and bellows for help.

'When we arrived on the scene it was apparent that the young elephant had been trapped in the early hours of the evening before.

'Amazingly he survived at least twelve and a half hours of this tragedy before being seen.


The Whites and their recovery team used 200 litres of water to cool the baby elephant and to soften the mud which had begun to harden under the hot sun.

'We also had to soften the mud that surrounded him in order to pull him gently without damaging his legs as they were well trapped by fast drying clay.

'Initially we couldn't use the car as the elephant was facing the wrong direction and by pulling him backwards we risked a chance of injury to the young bull.


'We had to pull him by hand for the first part of the ordeal so we could shift his weight and have him facing the vehicle for an easier recovery.'

'The only safe place to put the rope is around his neck. Elephants have a very strong neck that can take a lot of strain. If we had tried to pull him out by any part of his legs which eventually become exposed, we risked breaking them.

'When he was finally free and lay on the solid ground we had to act fast and get him to his feet, to allow the blood to circulate.


'Towing straps were placed under his belly and with our team off staff we heaved him to his feet manually.

'So far the baby is doing well and although he is very young he is able to look after himself.

'We are keeping an eye on him though to make sure he doesn't get into any more sticky situations.'
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