In 2022, a mother elephant in Kenya searched for water during a relentless drought. Her 5-month-old calf trotted by her side as they came upon what looked like a safe spot to drink.
What the elephants thought was a watering hole turned out to be a large expanse of dangerous, dense mud.
“The mother, who was fully grown [and] very heavy, lost her footing,” Sean Michael, director of communications at Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT), told The Dodo. “As she thrashed around, she just got … more and more stuck and didn’t have any traction to stand.”
The calf, young enough to still need milk from his mother, fell into the muck next to her.
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
For two days, this pair struggled against the thick sludge, which dragged them deeper. Under the hot sun, the only thing the mother could do was hold her baby close.
SWT learned about the stuck elephants from the Kenya Wildlife Service and Wildlife Works, a conservation organization. SWT’s team knew the area well: A few days earlier, they’d rescued two different elephants from the same remote spot.
By the time SWT’s team arrived on the scene, Michael said the baby desperately needed milk and the mother was exhausted. “She was just fruitlessly churning her legs,” Michael said.
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
The rescue crew gave fluids to the mom, who was severely dehydrated, and started digging the baby out. Mom did not like this approach.
“This mom was going crazy because she was so protective of her baby,” Michael said, adding that elephants usually sense when humans are there to help and will work with the rescuers. In this case, the mother elephant fiercely protested against anyone getting close to her baby, perhaps because she feared what would happen to him without her by his side.
She laid her trunk across her calf and refused to budge.
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
The on-site veterinary team decided to safely anesthetize the mama so they could free her baby without anyone getting hurt. This worked … at first.
The calf, though free from the mud, couldn’t bear to be away from his ailing mother. He continued running back to her, wailing.
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
“Elephants are just hugely family-oriented creatures,” Michael said. “We see this with moms and their babies … they’re extremely loyal and attached to each other.”
The vets anesthetized the baby, too, making it easier to reach the mother. It took lots of digging and three vehicles — a tractor and two land cruisers — to pull her completely out of the muck.
Miraculously, mama and baby suffered no injuries. They were exhausted and in dire need of water, but they survived their ordeal. The rescue had taken an entire day.
When the vet team revived the baby, instantly he wobbled over to his mama, nudging her with his trunk to get her to wake up. As she began moving, her calf wasted no time leading her away from the treacherous pit.
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
SWT watched the pair amble back into the wilderness, small bits of mud dropping from their backs. This time, the calf led, paving the route for the mama who gave her all to protect him.
The pair inspired SWT to work with the local chief and county government to get rid of the dangers the mud posed to elephants while maintaining the area as a dam that the community could use for water.
If you’d like to support the work done by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, you can donate to their efforts via their website.
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