A very touching article about a baby elephant and its mother who were rescued from the Kapani lagoon in Zambia where they got stuck in the mud together because they wouldn’t be separated.

A team of conservation workers sprang into action when a mother elephant tried to rescue her calf from the lagoon but then also got stuck herself. The rest of the family herd witnessed what was happening and desperately tried to help mother and baby.

The workers attempted to rescue the calf first, using a rope that they managed to slip under the baby.  Although the calf resisted because it desperately wanted to stay with its mother, the team finally managed to pull the youngster to safety.

They then also managed to pull the mother to safety by attaching the rope to a tractor. When the mother was freed, she raced off to rejoin her herd – and her baby.

Rachel McRobb, part of the rescue team from the South Luanga conservation Society, said about the action:  “Most conservationists believe that man should not meddle with the natural order and that we should allow nature to run her course however cruel or grim it seems to be.”

“We agree on the whole, unless a wildlife problem has been created by man (for instance in the case of snaring or being trapped in a fence, in which case it’s justifiable to intervene) then nature should be left to her own devices. She has a plan.”

“However – every rule has an exception and the dreadful plight of a baby elephant trapped in the mud of the Kapani Lagoon and her mother, who had also got stuck trying to save her yesterday had us all in a frenzy of activity.”

“We simply could not stand by and watch them struggle and slowly die.”

Via: Daily Mail