The incident happened in Thattekad in the Kerala province of southern India, when a Baby Elephant was about to cross the Urulanthanni River with its family the previous evening. The baby slipped and fell into an abandoned man-made well, causing distress not only to the young elephant, but also to his worried mother and the herd.

After forestry workers brought along a mechanical digger, they and several villagers in the area helped to rescue the scared baby elephant. After he was safe, his mother raised her trunk to the humans who had helped to save her baby, and luckily, someone was there to capture the whole thing on video to share with us all.

Distressed elephants trumpeting late into the night

Residents were alerted to the elephant baby’s plight the night before, after they heard trumpeting from the elephant herd throughout the dark hours. The rescue mission began at 7 a.m. the next morning. As can be seen in the video included below, it was quite a job to rescue the young elephant. All the while, the baby can be heard crying, distressed by what had happened to him.

The baby elephant had been unable to get out of the well on his own, despite the many efforts of his family members the night before. However, the worried herd backed off a little as workers, using a mechanical digger, gradually removed soil from the well.

Finally enough of the dirt surrounding the well had been removed, making it possible for the animal to walk out under his own power. Everyone cheered loudly upon seeing the baby safe and sound, and rescued from his predicament.

Rescue mission successfully reunites baby elephant with the herd

The whole rescue mission reportedly took around five hours, after which Shiju V.

Chacko, a forestry officer with the Thattekad district, confirmed that the little elephant was safely reunited with his mother and the rest of the family, who were waiting on the other side. As reported by The Hindu, the herd welcomed their young member back with an unusually huge display of affection, with adults touching and fussing over the calf, apparently to comfort the young elephant.

Relieved mother thanks human rescuers by waving her trunk

As reported by Newsweek, the relieved mother elephant couldn't leave the scene without thankfully saluting her baby's human rescuers with her long trunk. As everyone cheered, the herd then headed off through the river, reunited and on their journey again.
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