Elephant Herd Gives Thanks To Men Who Saved Their Drowning Calf

Elephants are more than supersized creatures; they are intelligent animals that deserve much respect. When most people think about elephants, they automatically think about their size.

Sometimes, they even use the size to their advantage. It’s not unusual to see elephants protecting the herd when they are in danger.

Even large animals need help on occasion; that was seen with a baby elephant that got stuck at Addo Elephant National Park. The other elephants in the herd couldn’t help, but a stranger was nearby to assist.

Dozens of African elephants call the national park home. One of the little ones got stuck in the mud pit, and try as they may, the older elephants were not able to help.

They tried to pull the elephant from the mud with their trunks, but they were not able. They did spray the little one with water to make him comfortable and hopefully help him out, but the baby was still stuck.

Park authorities knew that a human could get in and help the baby elephant, but there was no way to protect him from the older elephants nearby. Considering how protective they can be of their young, it was a risk.

It was also a risk that some caretakers were willing to take. They drove up to the area and started to dig in the pit for the baby elephant to climb out.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work well, and the herd moved in closer, pushing the baby elephant deeper into the mud. They knew that they had to get some time alone with the little one.

The large elephants, weighing up to 8 tons each, had to be run from the area. They used their trucks to frighten them, but it was still a risk. An elephant that large could’ve turned and flattened the vehicle.

Thankfully, the elephants did run off when they were pushed, and that gave someone time to jump in and help the calf.

The little elephant may have weighed more than 200 pounds, but the park staff was still able to pull him out of the water. They now had a different problem; the baby elephant didn’t want to leave.

Eventually, the mother elephant called to the baby, and he listened. It was then that the mother elephant trumpeted a thank you to the rangers.

You can see it all happening in this video: