A plucky little elephant recently found itself “proper stuck” in a waterhole in Addo Elephant National Park, but was luckily pulled to safety by some local rangers.
The park, which offers some of the best elephant viewing opportunities South Africa, is home to 600 or more African elephants.
A video taken there by Philip Keevy and now circulating online, shows a young elephant mired helplessly deep in the muck. Rangers jumped into action to tether a rope between their pickup truck and the elephant.
“A young bull got proper stuck at Hapoor waterhole in Addo,” read a post on the Africa, this is why I live here Facebook account.
They haul the animal out using both manpower and horsepower in only a few minutes.
The social media account’s administrators said Keevy captured the encounter and allowed them to share it.
“Of course the amazing rangers got him out safely,” the post said. “Laughed at his big attitude on being free again and LOVED seeing how joyous the reunion was between him and his herd.”
The saucy — and newly freed — elephant took a little run at its rescuers before heading back toward the watering hole. It briefly appeared to be stuck again before rejoining its herd.
That’s when and adult elephant even appears to turn its head and thank the rangers for lending some helping hands.
This waterhole is named after Hapoor, a dominant bull that lived in the area for years, and is known as a good spot to watch elephants at a close distance.
It’s been the site of stuck elephants before. In previous occasions, rangers also stepped in to free the big animals.
