“The mother seemed inexperienced and immediately attempted to lift the baby out, holding him by his trunk, and once flipping him by his back leg. As she struggled, she became rather frantic, unable to get a proper hold.”
With the mother elephant trying desperately to scoop her calf to safety, most of the other herd members stood by without coming to her aid. “They were very inexperienced in the situation and didn’t really offer any help as breeding herds would normally do,” he notes.
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“The hardest thing was watching the calf struggle and possibly face drowning. My immediate instinct was to get involved, but in these situations it’s important not to intervene. This was an important lesson for both the herd and the young calf,” he says.
“It was incredibly touching to watch that moment – and the sense of relief that the calf was safe was almost tangible,” says Verster.
Image: Rodney Steyn