Elephant Saves a Man She Believes to be Drowning in Fast-Flowing River

Kham Lha is an elephant that has been rescued by humans once before, and as the saying goes, ‘elephants never forget.’ When Darrick, one of the humans responsible for rescuing and taking care of the elephants appears to be in trouble in the water, the elephants by the river side know what’s coming next.

Kham Lha looks over at Darrick and realizes that he needs her help, so she charges straight into the fast-flowing river at the Elephant Nature Park in Thailand.

As you can see from the awesome video, the elephant wades through the powerful currents until she reaches the man in the water. She then uses her trunk and legs to protect the man from the water and eases him out onto the banks of the river.

Although the video was clearly staged and recorded, it doesn’t take away from the fact that these elephants have an inseparable bond with their rescuers and will do anything to protect these humans from harm.

While Thailand has a significant issue with animals being mistreated for the purposes of tourism, the Elephant Nature Park is dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of elephants that have been abused or made to perform for tourists.

It’s a terrible shame that such malpractice continues in this world, given how much better our understanding is of the incredible intelligence of elephants, and the fact that they’re capable of acute emotions that humans aren’t even able to appreciate.

As this video shows us, elephants will do everything in their power to return the favor of those that save and rescue them, and don’t want to see other species suffer for no reason. It’s only a shame that more humans don’t take heed from the example set by elephants, and do everything they can to protect these majestic animals from harm.