A baby elephant was rescued with only minutes to spare after spending over 12 hours stuck in a mudpool. The young bull had mud up to its neck and was struggling to free its trunk, putting it at risk of drowning. A group of tourists on safari along the Zambezi River in Africa spotted the animal and alerted the rescue team.
The team acted quickly to pull the elephant to safety, and were successful just in time. The young pachyderm will never forget the experience, but is now safe and on its way to recovery.
Muddled Up: A young elephant was sighted sinking into the marshland by some tourists on safari along the Zambezi River in Africa. 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 rushed to the aid of the young elephant. After assembling a rescue team, they made several attempts to free it from the mud before eventually succeeding.
According to Mr. White, the elephant had likely become trapped the previous evening and, after surviving for more than 12 hours, it wouldn’t have lasted much longer. He further explained that elephants are particularly drawn to these areas and, while moving towards the lush vegetation, they become stuck and sink deep into the mud, causing dehydration and loss of blood circulation in their legs.
Sticky situation: The baby elephant was found after 12 hours, stuck with mud up to his neck
Mission begins: Bradley White helps tie the ropes around the elephant’s neck after wetting the mud
Lifesavers: Once the rope is secured, the team starts to pull the five-year-old bull elephant out of the mud.
“If these animals are not found, they will eventually die or be attacked by vultures, hyenas or any other predator that may be drawn to their petrified screams and bellows for help.”
“When we arrived on the scene, it was evident that the young elephant had been trapped since the early hours of the previous evening.”
“Amazingly, he survived at least twelve and a half hours of this tragedy before being discovered.”
Battle: The elephant is fighting to get out of the mudpool as the rescue team pulls him by the neck
One-two-three-pull: It took an entire team to turn the elephant around in the mud before they could attach the ropes to a ca
The poor creature fought for his life but struggled to summon the energy after spending 12 hours in the mud. The Whites and their recovery team used 200 liters of water to cool the baby elephant and to soften the mud which had begun to harden under the hot sun.
To avoid damaging the young bull’s legs, which were well trapped by fast-drying clay, the team had to soften the mud that surrounded him before pulling him gently. Initially, they couldn’t use the car because the elephant was facing the wrong direction, and pulling him backwards risked injury. Therefore, they had to pull him by hand for the first part of the ordeal, shifting his weight so that he was facing the vehicle for an easier recovery.
Reward: Annelize and Bradley try to motivate the elephant to make one last push by offering it treats
Nearly there: Motivated by the nuts in Annelize’s hand, the baby elephant managed to get its leg unstuck
A shower in my mud bath: Mud is washed from the elephant’s face and eyes by throwing water over it
Finally out: After stretching its legs, the elephant seemed a bit unsteady, but was safe.
“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 became exposed, we risked breaking them.
When he was finally freed and lay on the solid ground, we acted quickly to get him to his feet and allow his blood to circulate. Towing straps were placed under his belly, and with our team of staff, we manually lifted him to his feet.
So far, the baby elephant is doing well, and although he is very young, he is able to take care of himself. We are keeping an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t get into any more challenging situations.”
