A baby elephant was sticky when he got stuck in a muddy puddle and needed a hand—or a trunk—from his older sister.
On Monday, the young calf had been playing in the mud at a watering hole in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
He lost his balance and slipped deeper into the puddle as he tried to lift himself out using his front legs.
Struggling to regain his footing, the calf wriggled and sank further, appearing to look for help from other elephants nearby. After a brief moment of hesitation, his older sister noticed his predicament and came to the rescue.
Moving carefully, she backed up toward her brother, using her trunk to provide him with the needed support.
With her help, the calf finally pulled himself out of the slippery mud and quickly caught up with their mother, who had already moved ahead with the rest of the herd.
Edrich Schafer, who witnessed and captured the heartwarming scene, shared, “We came across a herd of elephants near a watering hole and decided to watch them for a while.”
“One baby elephant stood out. We noticed him lying in the mud, seemingly trying to return to his feet after enjoying a mud bath. While it was hard not to feel bad for him, it was also amusing to watch.”
Schafer added, “The young female elephant was one of the baby’s many sisters in the herd. She slowly moved into position to help him out. Once he got free, it was adorable to see him run straight to his mother, clearly relieved.”
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