Baby Elephant Runs To Hug Mother After She's Tranquilised, Afraid She'd Never Wake Up

• The three-week-old baby elephant fell into a shallow pit and was unable to get out despite efforts by the mother
• When rangers arrived after hearing the cries, they had to sedate the cow to keep her calm during the rescue
• As soon as the baby came out and saw his mother on the ground, he ran over and emotionally hugged her, afraid she would never wake up again

In a heartwarming scene in the southern end of South Luangwa National Park, Zambia, a three-week-old baby elephant got trapped in a shallow pit, sparking distress cries from its mother.

Alerted by the mother's cries, villagers rushed to investigate the situation and discovered the trapped calf.

Mother was unable to help calf

According to Knowing Daily, the pit is suspected to have resulted from soil excavation for brick moulding, which proved challenging for the small elephant to escape.

Despite the cow's frantic efforts, she couldn't free her baby from the pit, sending her into distress.

"The mum was inside the pit with him, and frantically running around trying to help him out, but she also couldn’t quite manage," CEO and cofounder of Conservation South Luangwa (CSL) Rachel McRobb said.

A rescue team comprising CSL members, a wildlife vet, and park rangers swiftly intervened to save the elephants.

Rangers sedated mother

The first step was to tranquillize the mother, ensuring her safety and calmness during the rescue operation.

With the mother sedated, the rescuers focused on aiding the trapped baby elephant out of the shallow pit.

Once he got out, he noticed that his mother was on the ground looking lifeless, a development that broke his heart.

The calf immediately ran to hug and kiss his mother, afraid that he would not wake up, and helped rescue workers to wake her up.

Cow reunited with her calf

During the rescue, the mother, now tranquil, allowed her baby to feed as much as needed.

By the time the baby had its fill, the mother had eased out of the antidote and woken up, reuniting with her calf, after which they walked away.

"The most emotional part of the rescue for me was twofold — first watching the baby stand right by his mum while our vet gave the antidote, and secondly the smiles on the faces of everyone who helped," McRobb added.

The animal lover indicated that the experience was "really amazing and probably the nicest thing that has happened all year" for her.

Samburu elephant gave birth to twins

Back home, a Samburu National Reserve elephant named Alto recently gave birth to a pair of twin calves, a rare occurrence in the elephant community.

It was a development worth celebrating as twin elephants account for only about 1% of all elephant births.

In 2022, another elephant named Bora at the same reserve defied the odds and gave birth to twins: a male and a female.