You may have heard of momma bears before, but when it comes to protective parents, elephant moms take the cake. That was something workers at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust learned when a baby elephant was stuck in a hole.
Before rescuers arrived on the scene, a hidden night camera captured footage of a baby elephant stuck in a drinking hole. The baby elephant tried to climb out, but the sides of the hole were too high.
While the baby struggled, the calf’s mom did her best to hoist the baby out with her trunk, but she could not get the right angle or leverage. The rest of the family came over to see if they could help, but the baby remained stuck, pacing back and forth.
Then, rescuers arrived on the scene intending to help the nervous family. The momma elephant did not trust them. As the truck approached, the mom stood in front of her baby and fanned her ears.
One thing to note about rescues is that they are often more dangerous than they seem, especially if a parent is involved. In that kind of situation, the safety of the animal and the rescuers are at stake. They needed to be quick.
So, tensions were high as the rescue team pulled to a stop. The rescuers waited for the elephants to disperse, and when they did, two rescuers rushed out of the truck toward the stuck baby elephant.
As quickly as they could the team lifted the baby elephant out of the hole and ran away before the mom came back and misunderstood their desire to help. Thanks to their brave work, the family came back together again!
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