A baby elephant was rescued with
just minutes to spare after spending over 12 hours stuck in a
mudpool.
The young bull was spotted with
mud up to its neck by a group of tourists on safari along the
Zambezi River in Africa.
When the rescue team arrived it
became apparent that they needed to act quickly as the baby
pachyderm struggled to free its trunk and was close to
drowning.
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 came to the aid of the young elephant.
After gathering a rescue team,
they made several attempts to pull it from the mud before
eventually setting it free.
Mr White said it was likely the
elephant had become trapped the evening before and after surviving
for more than 12 hours wouldn't have lasted much longer.
He said: 'Elephants are
particularly drawn to these areas and when moving towards the
luscious vegetation they become stuck and sink deep into the mud,
causing them to dehydrate and loose blood circulation to their
legs.'
'If they're not found these
animals will eventually die or be eaten alive by vultures, hyenas
or any other predator that may be drawn to the petrified screams
and bellows for help.
'When we arrived on the scene it
was apparent that the young elephant had been trapped in the early
hours of the evening before.
'Amazingly he survived at least
twelve and a half hours of this tragedy before being
seen
The Whites and their recovery
team used 200 litres of water to cool the baby elephant and to
soften the mud which had begun to harden under the hot
sun.
'We also had to soften the mud
that surrounded him in order to pull him gently without damaging
his legs as they were well trapped by fast drying
clay.
'Initially we couldn't use the
car as the elephant was facing the wrong direction and by pulling
him backwards we risked a chance of injury to the young
bull.
'We had to pull him by hand for
the first part of the ordeal so we could shift his weight and have
him facing the vehicle for an easier recovery.'
'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 become exposed, we risked breaking
them.
'When he was finally free and
lay on the solid ground we had to act fast and get him to his feet,
to allow the blood to circulate.
'Towing straps were placed under
his belly and with our team off staff we heaved him to his feet
manually.
'So far the baby is doing well
and although he is very young he is able to look after
himself.
'We are keeping an eye on him
though to make sure he doesn't get into any more sticky
situations.'