Pachyderm Pitfall: Baby Elephant Rescued From Manhole, His Mother Gets Resuscitated in Thailand
© AFP 2023 / Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation/HANDOUTThis handout photo taken and released on July 13, 2022 by Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation shows an infant elephant standing next to 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.
© AFP 2023 / Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation/HANDOUT
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The baby elephant was accompanied by his mother, who stayed with her infant and initially hampered humans’ efforts to save the creature.
A veritable rescue operation had to be conducted in the Nakhon Nayok province of Thailand on Wednesday in order to save a baby elephant who had fallen into a manhole.
The incident occurred on the outskirts of the Royal Hills golf course, where the unfortunate elephant and his distressed mother were discovered by a passing resident, who immediately notified wildlife officials and Khao Yai National Park authorities, AFP reports.
The rescuers’ efforts were initially hampered by the presence of the baby elephant’s mother, who was understandably worried by her offspring’s plight.
Mother's true love: Baby elephant pulled from manhole in Thailand. Its mother stayed with infant as it was unable to climb out, and had to be sedated to allow the rescue to go ahead. Sadly, the mother then partially tumbled into the hole and had to be pulled out herself 📹 @AFP pic.twitter.com/hlI0VgsS3l
— Stephen Mutoro (@smutoro) July 15, 2022
As the rescuers had to sedate the mother elephant, she then ended up partially tumbling into the hole, although she was eventually pulled out and revived.
Just watch. 🥺❤ pic.twitter.com/RiYfNIDZLv
— Dr. Ajayita (@DoctorAjayita) July 14, 2022
A video of rescuers performing what appears to be CPR on the massive elephant has since emerged on social media.
The baby was also successfully extracted from the pit it was trapped in, and both creatures safely returned to the jungle, the media outlet adds, citing park authorities.