This is the moment vets flew to the rescue of an elephant calf after it became trapped in a snare laid by po.ac.hers in Kenya.
Footage shows the baby elephant unable to free its ankle from the tight loop of rope binding it to a stake in the ground in a remote area of the Tana River in the Ndera Community Conservancy.
Dr Poghon and his team from the KWS/SWT Tsavo Mobile Veterinary Unit from the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust flew to the remote area by helicopter before cutting the elephant free to be reunited with its mother.
The clip begins with the group of vets taking off as they track down the elephant calf, whose mother had been spotted helplessly watching from around 50 yards away.
An elephant calf was rescued by vets after becoming trapped in a snare laid by poachers in the Ndera Community Conservancy, Kenya
On arrival, the vets fire a d.a.rt f.ill.ed with an.ae.sth.etic at the calf, to su.b.due the dis.tre.ssed animal.
As the calf slumps to the ground, the vets move in to assess its in.j.uries. They swiftly cut the rope off and spray the w.o.und in the elephants ankle and one on its ear with blue antiseptic spray.
After the team successfully free the elephant, it wakes up and happily bounds off in to a thicket of nearby trees.
Amie Alden, from Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, described snares laid by po.a.chers as an ‘incredibly c.ru.el thr.eat to wildlife’.
Speaking about the rescue mission, she added: ‘Our Airwing is poised for situations like these, so the helicopter flew Dr Poghon to the scene, where the mother stood watching her baby around 50 metres away.
‘It remained a very real possibility that the mother and another nearby adult elephant, would move in, so our pilot circled overhead to monitor the situation and protect the ground team.
Video footage showed the vets fire a d.a.rt f.il.led with an.ae.sth.etic (pictured) at the calf, which fell to the floor and the team rushed in to begin freeing it
Dr Poghon and his team from the KWS/SWT Tsavo Mobile Veterinary Unit from the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust cut the elephant free (pictured) from the rope snare
‘Once the baby succumbed to the a.nae.st.hetic, the rope snare was easily cut away and fortunately we were able to provide help to spare this baby from a tra.g.ic end.
‘The team were left feeling a sense of accomplishment and were thankful to be in a position to right such wrongs.’
Snares usually set to catch smaller animals like impala, to feed the appetite for bushmeat, but large animals like elephants and rhinos can sometimes step into them.
The vets use a knife to free the elephant calf from the tight rope around its ankle, being careful not to in.j.ure the helpless animal in the process
Despite fears that the mother, who was standing 50 metres away, may move in and en.da.nger the vets from the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, they were able to free the calf (pictured)
In December 2020, a quick-thinking wildlife rescue team saved an elephant’s life after it was spotted with a hunter’s snare attached to its leg in Zimbabwe.
The elephant, known as Martha, was seen with the looped piece of wire tightly cutting into her leg as she wandered the plains with her calf.
Catherine Norton, 58, a conservationist living in the country, was called to the Musango Island Safari Camp after the owner spotted Martha struggling to walk.
Norton said she and her team had to immobilise the elephant, saying the creature would have surely d.i.ed without intervention.
Kenya has cracked down on illegal po.a.ching as it attempts to conserve vital wildlife, a move that has seen elephant populations begin to rise again.
After the vets successfully free the elephant, it wakes up (pictured) and happily bounds off in to the thicket of nearby trees
