Cambodia rescues 11 endangered elephants

Phnom Penh, March 25 (IANS) At least 11 endangered Asian elephants were rescued by Cambodian villagers from a muddy bomb crater on Saturday, an official said.

The elephants, including three youngsters, were trapped in a three-metre deep bomb crater inside the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary in Mondolkiri province on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Villagers reported to the conservationists about the incident, said Keo Sopheak, Director of the Environment Department.

"We dug away at the side of the crater, and created a path to enable the wild elephants to climb free," Sopheak said.

He said no elephant was injured in the incident, and they were released into the jungle.

Cambodia is home to over 500 wild elephants, according to the Forestry Administration.

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Baby elephant dies after getting stuck in termite hole

A baby elephant has died after getting trapped in a termite nest at a Cambodian wildlife sanctuary.

The young animal fell into the hole in the forest in the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, which is in Cambodia’s eastern Mondulkiri province.

Local environment boss Keo Sopheak said the calf fell into the deep hole without any conservation workers realising its predicament in time to save it.

The young elephant fell into a hole in the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary in Mondulkiri province, Cambodia.

The elephant’s body has been preserved in ice and scientists will now study it in the capital Phnom Penh.

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A Whole Family Of Elephants And Their Babies Were Trapped In The Mud For Hours

At the end of March, an incredible rescue mission took place in the sanctuary of Keo Seima Wildlife in Cambodia. An entire family of Asian elephants found themselves suddenly trapped in a huge dam of mud, reports The Dodo.

The huge hole, normally used by local farmers to store water, had been transformed into a sticky, muddy pool which could have taken the lives of this elephant family as they were unable to get out.

As soon as the farmers found the animals in the mud trap, they contacted the Minister of Environmental Affairs, who then contacted the associations, Elephant Livelihood Initiative Environment (ELIE), and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Cambodia. The volunteers rushed to the scene and found the family completely exhausted and in grave danger.

 They gave food and water to the three adult and eight baby elephants to help them regain their strength before commencing the rescue mission. They started to water the elephants down to refresh them, and also to thin out the thick, sticky mud.

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Villagers rescue 11 elephants in Cambodia

Farmers in Cambodia found 11 Asian elephants trapped in a mud hole — an old bomb crater from the Vietnam War that the farmers had enlarged to store water.

The 10-foot walls in the hole in Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary were too high for the elephants to scale and, as the mud dried, it became increasingly more difficult for the herd to escape.

The farmers contacted the Department of the Environment, and employees there reached out to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Elephant Livelihood Initiative Environment (ELIE) for help.

Villagers worked with the team to help bring food and water to the elephants while a ramp was built and lowered into the hole.

"This involved a massive effort of digging a ramp and escape channel, loading in branches and logs and roughage and cooling them down with a big hose and to also loosen the mud around them, before they finally moved toward the exit," Jemma Bullock of ELIE wrote on Facebook.

"Finally ... one after the other they stormed out of there. However more drama struck when one little baby was left behind. So the rescue mission launched back into action. As a huge storm rolled in, we attempted to rope the baby ele to safety. After many attempts and some heart stopping moments, the little gal finally made it out and ran off to the safety of the forest and the herd!"

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