Parade Pets and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article.<\/p>\n
At first, no one knew what they were hearing. Somewhere deep in the well, something was crying, and it wasn\u2019t stopping.<\/p>\n
It was easy to miss if no one stopped to listen. Finally, someone did hear and called for help.<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udc3e SIGN UP to get \u201cpawsitivity\u201d delivered right to your inbox with inspiring & entertaining stories about our furry & feathered friends<\/a>\ud83d\udc3e<\/p>\n A baby elephant<\/a>, likely separated from its herd while searching for water, was wedged deep in the mud, exhausted from hours of struggling to climb the slick walls.<\/p>\n What followed was a careful rescue that turned a desperate situation into something hopeful.<\/p>\n Why the Baby Was Left in the Well<\/p>\n The video<\/a>, which is a clip from the PBS television series NATUREBecoming Elephant: The Orphans Of Reteti, shows how people at the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary<\/a> in Kenya are fighting for every animal.<\/p>\n As the narrator in the video explains, elephants can smell water, and sometimes, when they cannot reach it, they lose their footing and fall into the water.<\/p>\n Elephant herds are often forced to move on for their own survival, leaving calves behind when their rescue attempts fail.<\/p>\n When people contacted the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, they immediately reacted. Wells and water holes can be dangerous for wildlife, especially young animals.<\/p>\n As the volunteers climbed down, the calf screamed and thrashed, exhausted but still fighting. Baby elephants can weigh between 200 and 300 pounds. Because of their weight, not a single person can help them.<\/p>\n Related: Adorable \u2018Tiny Giant\u2019 Rhino Calf Makes Heartwarming Zoo Debut<\/a><\/p>\n This rescue operation needed several volunteers working together to pick up the trapped animal. Once they got him to safety, they petted him to show him he was safe.<\/p>\n Back at the sanctuary, the baby will get plenty of care. Volunteers will try to earn his trust so that he can heal and get back on his feet.<\/p>\n As the rescuer in the video said, \u201cYou’re just constantly thinking about them. You’re sort of waking up in the night, and it’s the first thing that you think about.\u201d<\/p>\n Where Do Orphaned Elephants Go Next?<\/p>\n Rescues like this don\u2019t end at the well.<\/p>\n Organizations like the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary step in to care for orphaned or injured elephants<\/a>. Located in northern Kenya, Reteti is community-run and focuses on rehabilitation with the goal of eventually returning elephants to the wild.<\/p>\n Young elephants need constant care. Feeding, monitoring and even emotional support. They form bonds with their keepers, much like they would within a herd. This baby elephant got his second chance because someone heard his cry from the well.<\/p>\n Someone chose to stop and help. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, even with a cat or a dog, stop. You might help an animal in need.<\/p>\n Related: Rare Baby Blue Duiker Born at Cincinnati Zoo Is Almost Too Tiny to Believe<\/a><\/p>\n This story was originally published by Parade Pets<\/a> on Apr 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the Pet News<\/a> section. Add Parade Pets as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Parade Pets and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. At first, no one knew what…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":585922,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[55376,10554,256376,256377,256378,256375,79,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-585921","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-baby-elephant","9":"tag-baby-elephants","10":"tag-elephant-herds","11":"tag-elephant-sanctuary","12":"tag-rescue-attempts","13":"tag-reteti-elephant-sanctuary","14":"tag-science","15":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=585921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/585922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=585921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=585921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=585921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}