A dramatic rescue of a couple of elephants in Thailand by veterinarians and park staff required the deployment of a boom lift, a digger, and the resuscitation of an unconscious mother by three people.
When a one-year-old elephant slipped into a roadside drainage hole in central Nakhon Nayok province on Wednesday, rescuers were forced to work in the pouring rain. Staff at the national park said that the frightened mother guarded her calf while sedated, but she also fell in shortly after.
Rescuers pulled the mother from the mud with the use of a truck-mounted boom lift, then climbed on top of her to administer CPR as a digger opened the way for the worried calf to emerge from the slick muck.
The mother soon recovered consciousness when the calf started nursing her, and both animals instantly went back into the wild.
Over three hours were spent working on the operation by the team.
She walked toward her baby before falling unconscious and hurting her head, according to Dr. Chananya Kanchanasarak, a veterinarian for the Khao Yai national park Department.
It was “one of the most memorable rescues we’ve done,” according to Chananya.
Watch the video to see the rescue:
