This is the inspiring moment a mother elephant was rescued as vets performed CPR by jumping up and down on her chest as her young daughter watched.
The 10-year-old bull and her baby calf, one, had slipped into a concrete wave drain amid torrential rain in Nakhon Nayok, central Thailand, yesterday afternoon.
A storm had made the grass wet and muddy, forcing the pair to fall into the 7ft deep hole.
Heavy monsoon rain made it nearly impossible to retrieve the pair, with vets mobilizing an aerial platform to get the huge mammals out of the drain.
But after the mother hit her head and was struck by the cold, her life was suddenly on the line.
The one-year-old calf watches with concern as her mother, ten, was jumped up and down yesterday by a team of vets
A team of vets immediately jumped on the mother elephant after pulling her out of the den so she would regain consciousness
The mother elephant looked worse from wear and tear when she was hoisted from the deep wave pit by park rangers and a team of vets
Incredible video shows the massive three-hour operation to get the elephants to safety – then save the mother.
dr. Chananya Kanchanasarak, the national park’s chief veterinarian, said: “It was impossible to get near the baby while the mother was around, so we gave her three doses of sedatives, but she walked up to her baby before she passed out and hit her head.’
She added that the mother “gained consciousness after being stimulated by both me and the baby.”
Park rangers feared the mother would call for help from the 30 elephant herd nearby if they forced their way to pull the baby, so they called vets.
dr. Chananya Kanchanasarak, the national park’s lead veterinarian, watches as a cherry picker lifts the pair of elephants from the drain
dr. Kanchanasarak leads her team as they roll over the elephant so she can get their emergency medical help
The baby calf was stranded overnight in the wave drain before her mother fell into the 7-foot crevice and knocked herself out
The aerial platform crane was needed to pull the elephants out of the hole because the couple couldn’t get out on their own
The calf appeared terrified as her unconscious mother was lifted out before receiving CPR from doctors
A team erected a temporary barrier to prevent the protective and potentially violent herd from approaching.
The baby elephant was unable to get out of the 7ft drain on its own as heavy monsoon rains ravaged the national park
As the mother passed out in the burrow, the baby elephant—which had been trapped the night before—sucked milk, which gave the vets some relief.
A crane was used to pull the creatures out of the muddy drain before the vets continued their work.
The moment the mother touched safe ground, three vets jumped on her to resuscitate and wake her, as the impact of a fall on her head could have hurt her.
Fortunately, the mother elephant woke up.
Park rangers and vets left the scene to have the jumbos reunite — and join the massive herd.
Delighted rangers and emotional vets watched the mother and her baby disappear back into the woods.
dr. Chananya added: ‘Despite the obstacles, the mother did not leave her baby’s side.
“This experience touched our hearts and will be one of the most memorable saves we’ve made.”
The vet said both “mother and baby are safe” and thanked people for the “hard work of all parties involved in the rescue.”
There are an estimated 4,000 elephants in Thailand.
About half of these live in captivity in animal camps, zoos and reserves. The rest can be found in national game reserves.
dr. Chananya said the experience touched the hearts of her team and it was one of the most memorable saves they’ve made
The two elephants got stuck in drains yesterday afternoon amid intense monsoon rains that ravaged central Thailand
A crane was mobilized to lift the mother out of the hole after she fell in, possibly to retrieve her daughter, who also slipped inside