A young elephant has been rescued from a muddy pit in Zimbabwe after rescuers used a bulldozer to help with the rescue operation. The elephant was discovered in the pit near the resort town of Kariba, and is thought to have been stuck there for approximately 24 hours.
© Kariba Animal Welfare Trust
According to reports, the elephant’s herd stood anxiously nearby while staff members from Kariba Animal Welfare Trust (KAWFT), ZimParks, Lake Harvest, and other volunteers got to work on helping to free the young animal.
© Kariba Animal Welfare Trust
A bulldozer was brought in to carefully and skillfully level the steep sides of the pit to allow the elephant to walk out. However, it was weak and caked in thick mud, and lay motionless in the mud even though a way out of the pit had been created.
The rescue team realized that the elephant was probably in dire need to water having been stuck there for so long, so they got a bucket of fresh water to tempt it out.
© Kariba Animal Welfare Trust
“That smell of water often seems to urge them on,” said the Kariba Animal Welfare Trust (KAWFT). “As the water splashing began, the competent driver continued moving more dry soil closer and the fact that a human was closer, a greater effort was made to push, get up and out the mud and out the pit.”
© Kariba Animal Welfare Trust
With great relief the elephant, clearly motivated by the sound of the splashing water, was able to get out of the mud and make a dash for freedom. The pit was then filled to avoid any future danger to animals.
© Kariba Animal Welfare Trust
“We mostly always imagine the worst when going into a wild animal situation. It was a pleasure to again have the best outcome as we watched the rescued individual walk away to find the rest of the family,” KAWFT said on their Facebook post of the rescue.
Watch the video of the rescue below from Kariba Animal Welfare Trust
