by Elephants Trapped In Mud For Two Days, What Happens Next Will Leave You Stunned
The 40-year-old elephant had gotten sᴛᴜᴄᴋ in some mud — and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get himself out.
Team members from Big Life Foundation, a wildlife conservation group, saw the elephant near an outpost they use to monitor wildlife and look out for illegal ᴘᴏᴀᴄʜɪɴɢ activities in Kiboko, Kenya. They weren’t sure how the elephant had gotten sᴛᴜᴄᴋ in the mud, but they suspected he’d been trying to have a mud bath. Elephants of all ages will bathe in mud to coat their skin to protect it against the sun and as a form of insect repellent.
The team at Big Life Foundation knew they couldn’t help the elephant on their own — so they joined forces with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and DSWT, as well as the local community. Working together, they tried pulling the elephant out with the force of heavy vehicles — but it was extremely difficult. The mud formed a kind of glue around the elephant’s body, keeping him fixed in the mud.
“The biggest issue is not being able to eat or drink, which is made ᴡᴏʀsᴇ by the animal’s efforts to extract itself, using up its energy and becoming ᴡᴇᴀᴋᴇʀ,” Brandford said. “Additionally this elephant was unable to get into the shade to stay cool, and neither could he use his ears for that purpose, being sᴛᴜᴄᴋ as they were. Teams were able to create a makeshift water pipe from tubing to at least get some water into the elephant during the operation.”
Tʜᴇ ᴛᴇᴀᴍ ᴡᴏʀᴋᴇᴅ tirelessly to help the elephant, and at one point, they even pulled him out with two large trucks. But overnight, the elephant somehow managed to slip back into the mud and get sᴛᴜᴄᴋ again. After three days of trying, the team had almost started to lose hope. “By day three there were growing concerns, given the difficulty in getting vehicles into the right position to be able to pull him out without causing him ɪɴᴊᴜʀʏ,” Brandford said
Treacherous terrain, with vehicles constantly getting sᴛᴜᴄᴋ. However, with those concerns came a growing resolve from all involved to succeed. The first he did little — he was ᴇxʜᴀᴜsᴛᴇᴅ from the ordeal and having been without food and in the sun for such a long period. When ɪɴᴛʀᴀᴠᴇɴᴏᴜs Fʟᴜɪᴅs provided by DSWT and administered by the KWS vet, he ʀᴇɢᴀɪɴᴇᴅ ʜɪs sᴛʀᴇɴɢᴛʜ and rose to his feet moved out the mud with helping’s many people.
All of the people were very happy, they were scream in success. Even the most field-worthy vehicle would sᴛʀᴜɢɢʟᴇ to gain the traction needed to pull them out.” Both the elephants were safely ʀᴇsᴄᴜᴇᴅ.
Netizens lauded the rescue team . A user called the rescue team “angels” and wrote, “I am so thankful for the work you do. You are angels on earth!” Another wrote, “Amazing team! Amazing rescue! Amazing organization. So proud to support you.” Another user hoped for the drought to go away and wished for rain, they wrote, “Thank you so much for your.
