At the end of March, an incredible rescue mission took place in the sanctuary ofKeo Seima Wildlifein Cambodia. An entire family of Asian elephants found themselves suddenly trapped in a huge dam of mud, reports The Dodo.
Source : ELIE
The huge hole, normally used by local farmers to store water, had been transformed into a sticky, muddy pool which could have taken the lives of this elephant family as they were unable to get out.
Source : ELIE
As soon as the farmers found the animals in the mud trap, they contacted the Minister of Environmental Affairs, who then contacted the associations, Elephant Livelihood Initiative Environment (ELIE), and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Cambodia. The volunteers rushed to the scene and found the family completely exhausted and in grave danger.
They gave food and water to the three adult and eight baby elephants to help them regain their strength before commencing the rescue mission. They started to water the elephants down to refresh them, and also to thin out the thick, sticky mud.
Source : ELIE
The volunteers then build ramps to help the family climb out of the crater before finally watching the matriarch succeed in escaping, and show her family how to do the same.
But one little female stayed stuck, unable to get out.
Source : ELIE
As the rain started falling softly, the volunteers encouraged the baby elephant with sugar cane and bananas. Finally, she climbed out of the hole where she had been trapped for many hours. Tan Setha, who works for the WCS, explained:
If the community had not got together with the WCS, ELIE and the Department of Environment to rescue these 11 Asian elephants, this would have been a tragedy. This herd consisted of three adult females and eight juveniles of various ages, including a male that had almost reached maturity. These elephants represent an important part of the breeding population in Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, and their loss would have been a major blow for conservation.
Source : ELIE
There are only 35,000 Asian elephants in the wild left today, and deforestation continues to threaten their existence. Luckily, this herd had a happy ending thanks to the solidarity of the locals who wanted to set them free.
H/t: The Dodo
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