Kenya: Baby elephant gets stuck in a water trough; rescue op by family wins the internet

Every day, a large number of videos featuring elephants go viral on social media as they get a lot of attention from Netizens. Right now, a rescue story of a newborn elephant is making the rounds on the internet. This incident occurred at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya, it was caught on camera and the video being shared on social media by the organisation. 

The newborn elephant's relative tried to rescue 

The calf had gotten itself inside a water trough by accident and was unable to get out. While the newborn calf was trapped inside, its relatives gathered around the water trough, "visibly distraught," and tried everything they could to save the infant. Soon after, a team of concerned officials raced to the scene and successfully rescued the calf.

Sheldrick Wildlife Trust shared the video of the rescued animal with the caption, "This incident unfolded just outside our Ithumba stockades earlier this year. It was nearing midnight when we realized something was amiss: A small herd of elephants was clustered around the water trough, visibly distressed. Focusing our eyes against the darkness, we saw that a newborn calf was stuck inside. While all our troughs are designed to prevent this very situation from happening, she had defied engineering, and despite their best efforts, her family was unable to extricate her."

The post has received over 56 thousand likes since it was published two days ago ahead of World Elephant Day on August 12, which was yesterday. It has also garnered a large number of comments.

One commenter wrote, "This world is a better place because of people like you. It gives me hope," another Instagram user wrote, "Not all heroes wear capes." "Omg, that baby is SO precious! Thank you for helping!!" expressed a third.

Similar instance from India

In a different video, another baby elephant imprisoned in a water tank was rescued by wildlife officials. Parveen Kaswan, an official with the Indian Forest Services, shared the video on Twitter. This video has received over 80 thousand views and over four thousand likes. Some officials can be seen in the video attempting to free the elephant imprisoned in a water tank. 

Image- @sheldricktrust/Instagram