A team of veterinarians and staff at Khao Yai National Park in Thailand on July 13 made a dramatic rescue when a mother and baby elephant pair became trapped under a manhole.
The rescue took place amid heavy rains in Khao Yai National Park in the area of Nakhon Nayok province on July 13. At the beginning, only one-year-old baby elephants fell into a drainage hole by the roadside.
According to the staff, the mother elephant was embarrassed to just watch the baby elephant, but then also fell into the drain when she was injected with sedatives.
Dr Chananya Kanchanasarak of the Khao Yai National Park Zoo said: “We couldn’t get close to the baby elephant while the mother was still nearby. So we gave him 3 doses of sedation. However, the mother elephant approached the baby before fainting, so the head was also stuck.”
Rescuers used a crane to lift the mother out, then climbed on her to perform resuscitation
Image of a baby elephant stuck in a drainage hole in Khao Yai National Park on July 13.
After lifting the mother elephant, they used an excavator to clear the soil around the crater. This is to help the baby elephants climb out and avoid the slippery mud.
After escaping from the sluice gate, the baby elephant goes to suckle its mother. The mother elephant quickly regained consciousness and both were returned to nature. The rescue team took 3 hours to complete the mission. Dr Chananya said it was “one of the most memorable rescues we’ve done”.
