This elephant spent 11 hours digging a hole in a tragic attempt to save her baby

Life can be cruel and this story is a true testament to that. In 2015, a video was taken of a mother elephant who spent 11 grueling hours digging a hole with the sole purpose of survival. Not hers, but that of her calf's.

The video was taken in a village in India's Chatra district, where elephants pass through during migration. The downside passing through human civilisations is that they face manmade obstacles that are hard to overcome. Such was the case for this mother and her calf, who got stuck in a well.

The elephant's distress

The villagers nearby were alerted that of the tragic situation when they heard commotion happening nearby. Upon closer look they saw the elephant frantically digging around the well. It was digging deeper and deeper, exhausting itself.

When the villagers saw what was stuck inside, they realised they needed to distract the mother who was only making things worse. The rescue was led by a man named Jitendra Tiwari who said, as quoted by Daily Mail:

We chopped off a few banana trucks and put it near the well so that the mother elephant moved away for sometime.

The plan worked and we used the time remove the heap of sand deposited near the well that was making it difficult for her to rescue the baby.

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Successful rescue

With the help of the villagers, the elephant was then able to get closer to her calf and pull it out from the hole. The pair were then seen walking around the village

The video of the elephant has been getting traction ever since it was first published with videos online amassing over 2 million views.

Sources used:

YouTube

Daily Mail: A mother never forgets: Elephant spends 11 hours desperately trying to pull her baby free from muddy well – before villagers lend her a helping hand