Thai wildlife volunteers and vets saved the life of a distressed mother elephant and rescued her year-old calf

THAILAND: It is important for human being to be aware that animals not only approach humans for food but also for help.

Animals know very well of what humans are capable of. For instance, on Thursday (13 Jul), in central Thailand’s Khao Yai National Park, a mother elephant risked her life to block vehicles on the road while trying to rescue her calf, which had become trapped in a 2.13-meter deep drain.

However, the profound message of the mother elephant eluded foolish drivers, after asking for help to no avail, she was ready to sacrifice her life to protect her calf.

An elephant calf is seen inside a manhole after it fell in Khao Yai National Park, Nakhon Nayok province. REUTERS / Taanruuamchon

Rescue attempt

The calf had fallen into the manhole as it was slippery due to the monsoon. Its mother was standing guarding over the one-year-old calf.

According to The Telegraph, park rangers had been afraid that the mother would cry out for help from its 30-elephant herd if they try to pull out the calf against her will. So, they decided to call in vets to help them.

When wildlife volunteers tranquilised the ten-year-old distressed mother so that they could reach her year-old calf and rescue it, the older elephant hit its head on a concrete structure, lost consciousness, and also fell in.

Footage from the rescue showed the older elephant unconscious, with her forelegs and head stuck in the manhole, while the calf was under her.

Source: 動物救援第一線’s Facebook page

A veterinarian and rescue workers rescue a mother elephant after it fell into a manhole in Khao Yai National Park, Nakhon Nayok province, Thailand. REUTERS / Taanruuamchon

Rescuers used a truck-mounted boom lift to pull her out before crawling on top of her to perform simultaneous cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Diggers also made way for the anxious calf to climb out of the drain.

It began suckling its mother as soon as the older elephant regained consciousness and the two then made their way into the wild.

A calf stands next to its mother, a sedated adult elephant, following a rescue operation to recover the younger elephant after it fell into a hole, in Nakhon Nayok province in central Thailand. REUTERS / Taanruuamchon

Both the elephants walked away together after the rescue operation. REUTERS / Taanruuamchon

It took about three hours for the team to finish the rescue operation.

“It was impossible to get near the baby while the mother was nearby so we gave her three doses of tranquillisers but she moved towards her baby before passing out and hit her head,” Dr ChananyaKanchanasarak, Khao Yai national park’s vet told Sky News.

Meanwhile, there are quite a number of well-documented cases to find in literature and the internet, where animals have approached humans to get some form of help or assistance.

If you ever encounter similar situation, it does not hurt to inform local veterinary services or fire and rescue department about the situation.