Elephants are some of the most empathetic creatures on Earth. They love and care for each other, and they’ll do anything for the other elephants in their herd. This is even true of elephants in captivity.
Recently, two elephants proved how much these animals care about each other when they rescued a dying baby from a pool.
This incident took place at Grand Park Zoo in Seoul, South Korea.
One moment, the baby elephant was happily playing with one of the adults by the side of the pool. The next, the little elephant had accidentally slipped and fallen into the pool.
Both adults immediately jumped into action. They ran into the pool, going towards the distressed baby. A third elephant in another enclosure ran and back forth along the fence, clearly worried.
Thankfully, the rescue went smoothly.
The two adults elephants reached the baby elephant, and they led the little one back to shallow water and then onto solid ground. The little elephant was happy and healthy, and we’re sure he was much more cautious around the water after that!
Grand Park Zoo shared footage of the incident on YouTube. It quickly went viral, receiving over 1.4 million views.
After the video went viral, The Washington Post talked with elephant expert Caitlin O’Connell-Rodwell about the incident. She said that the elephants probably jumped into action so quickly because they’re bonded to the baby:
“It’s obvious that these two females are particularly bonded to the baby, and I assume given the size difference and assertiveness, that the one that came running from afar is the matriarch of this small group and understands the danger and was quite agitated.”
Since the video was silent, O’Connell-Rodwell had to guess what sounds the elephants were making.
“Falling into deeper water like this could also cause the baby to bellow in alarm. And given how quickly the others responded, I’m assuming that’s indeed the case. When a baby screams, its mother, sisters and other adult females in the family come to its rescue.”
O’Connell-Rodwell also said that young elephants love playing in the water, but they don’t learn how to swim until they’re a few months old. Since the baby was so young, he hadn’t learned how to swim yet. Hopefully, the matriarchs in his pen will give him some swimming lessons soon!
This incident shows how caring elephants are, and it shows how quickly they’ll jump into action to save a member of their herd. If you’d like to see this amazing footage, check it out below!
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