Tim had gotten himself into a boggy, soggy mess — and he needed assistance getting out.
Last week, a famous wild elephant with huge 100-pound tusks moseyed onto a farm in Kimana, Kenya, to eat some crops. However, as Tim attempted to cross over to another farm, he fell into a muddy creek.
The enormous elephant fought to free himself, but it only made matters worse, burying him still deeper in the mire.
Tim was trapped for a long time, although no one knows for sure how long he was there. Craig Millar, the organization’s head of security, believes Tim spent 12 to 14 hours in the furrow. A farmer eventually discovered Tim, and instead of becoming angry that he had eaten his crops, called Big Life Foundation to assist the helpless elephant.
But when the team of rescuers arrived, they saw that freeing Tim would not be easy. nThe David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and Kenya Wildlife Service collaborated with the Big Life Foundation to rescue him.
Tim was an enormous elephant, and he’d done a terrific job wedging himself into the marshy ground.
“In other elephant rescue operations, the elephant has always been smaller, the mud much shallower, and firm ground much closer to deploy cars to pull out has always been available,” Glen Millar revealed.
Tim was further enraged, thrashing his head and trunk, making it difficult for the rescue workers to approach.
“He’d have been irritated at being trapped and upset at having no way of getting himself free, but he also found himself surrounded by individuals,” according to Rob Brandford, executive director of the DSWT.
The beams were too thin and weak to support Tim’s weight. To make matters worse, the rescue workers didn’t have long enough ropes with which to lift him out.
“Given Tim’s position deep in the marsh and the fact that it was almost 100 meters to firm ground, we needed longer straps,” Brandford adds. “So, while the drama was unfolding, Angela Sheldrick [DSWT CEO] arranged for a shipment of straps from our Nairobi store to be sent to East Africa Canvas Company, one of our partners.”
“The straps were a bit of concern,” said Mr. Frappier. “We had already dropped every other project we were working on that morning to zip together our straps as quickly as possible to make sure we had the length required.”
“Once we had everything in place, Angela scheduled for a plane to be chartered by DSWT to bring the straps to the scene,” Brandford continued. “We knew we didn’t have much time for Tim, so all of this was completed in a matter of hours.”
It all worked out in the end. The rescuers wrapped the long straps around Tim’s body and hauled him to safety using a tractor and two Land Cruisers.
“They did it, though, by maintaining their resolve, patience, and bravery,” said Brandford.
Since his rescue, the Big Life team has been keeping an eye on him — but he appears to be doing well.
