Droughts in Africa frequently lead to the desperation of animals for rain, yet when it comes, it may cause many problems.
For one devoted elephant mother with a newborn, a sudden downpour threatened to permanently separate her from her baby.
In Kenya’s Tsavo National Park, the newborn got stuck in a drinking trough after being s.l.i.p.p.e.d into it, and the mud prevented its tiny legs from propelling it out of the hole.
Fortunately, there were spectators. Some visitors informed the park authorities, who sent a rescue team from the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT), an excellent aid organization for elephants and rhinos.
The mom elephant attempted to shield her calf and assist her out of the trough, but she couldn’t get a firm hold on her baby.
“Our teams guided the mother a safe distance away while the rain still fell so that they may remove the days-old calf. Her mother had circled in the distance, desperate to find out what was going on.”
Three men carried the newborn out of the water carefully; as they lifted the infant away from her frantic mother, they tried to soothe her.
The calf was separated from his mother and led back into her view, she was visibly relieved that her baby was out of danger.
“As soon as she saw her baby free and heard her calf’s cries, she raced over to her side,” DSWT wrote.
Then, as the little family was leaving, the mother elephant appeared to send a thank-you signal to the men who had rescued her baby. “Mum circled with her head and tail held high, looking in the direction of the vehicles and men, comprehending that she and her calf had been given a helping human hand,'” according to DSWT.
