Amazing Team Comes Together to Save 11 Elephants Trapped in Muddy Crater

A herd of eleven elephants recently became stuck in a flooded crater in Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary in Mondulkiri Province, Cambodia. This crater is presumed to be a result of the aftermath of the Vietnam War. With the muddy sides of the crater too steep and slippery for the massive pachyderms to climb, intervention by sympathetic humans was necessary.

Here the elephants are shown absolutely coated in mud from the flooded crater. Desperate and scared, they huddled close together for comfort.

The rescue team immediately began to dig channels in the mud to build a ramp for the elephants’ rescue. They also created piles of brush to help add traction for the animals’ climb.

Exhausted with empty bellies, the elephants chowed down on the fresh leafy branches fed to them while the ramp was being built. They needed the energy to help them survive the long struggle.

 Rescuers sprayed the herd with fresh water to help loosen the thick coats of mud on their bodies in order for the elephants to move more freely.

 Eager to escape the flooded crater, the elephants huddled around the ramp, waiting patiently for their moment to be free again.

 Unfortunately, a baby elephant was just too tiny to successfully make it up the ramp on its own. With heavy rain storms setting in, the rescue team had to act fast. Finagling ropes around the young calf, they were able to successfully pull her out to safety to join the rest of the herd.

The diligent efforts of the kind rescuers was a huge success! Led by the matriarch, the elephants exited the crater one by one, and they could not have been more relieved. You can watch the uplifting moment of the rescue here:

This miraculous elephant rescue was made possible by the efforts of Elephant Valley Project Group. Please visit their Facebook page to stay updated on their work, and don’t forget to share this uplifting story!

All image source: Elephant Valley Project Group/Facebook