Adorable moment rescued baby elephant rolls in the sand to reach an itch on its head
- 4 years ago
This is the adorable moment a rescued baby elephant buried its head in the sand to reach an itch on its face.
The three-month-old animal would normally have an adult help to scratch its leathery skin but it was separated from the herd in Uthai Thani, central Thailand.
Wildlife rangers found the vulnerable baby jumbo wandering through the forest and with no way for him to fend for himself, they took him to a sanctuary to be temporarily cared for.
Footage from last Sunday afternoon (June 28) shows the baby rolling around in its sandy enclosure, while trying to ease an itch on its head.
Head ranger Thanee Wongna said the animal appeared to have an itch but there were no adult elephants around to help so it had to soothe it alone.
Thanee said: "He appeared like he was itchy so he tried to scratch it by himself by scratching his trunk onto the sand."
The ranger said now the officers are working on a plan to reunite the baby elephant with the herd.
He said: "We have been monitoring the baby since he arrived and we found that during the night, there are calls from the herd. However, we can't release him into the jungle until he returns those sounds, as that will help them to find each other.
"Although we believe the herd already knows where their baby it, they have not yet come for him, so we will wait for another few days before we start to push him back.''
The three-month-old animal would normally have an adult help to scratch its leathery skin but it was separated from the herd in Uthai Thani, central Thailand.
Wildlife rangers found the vulnerable baby jumbo wandering through the forest and with no way for him to fend for himself, they took him to a sanctuary to be temporarily cared for.
Footage from last Sunday afternoon (June 28) shows the baby rolling around in its sandy enclosure, while trying to ease an itch on its head.
Head ranger Thanee Wongna said the animal appeared to have an itch but there were no adult elephants around to help so it had to soothe it alone.
Thanee said: "He appeared like he was itchy so he tried to scratch it by himself by scratching his trunk onto the sand."
The ranger said now the officers are working on a plan to reunite the baby elephant with the herd.
He said: "We have been monitoring the baby since he arrived and we found that during the night, there are calls from the herd. However, we can't release him into the jungle until he returns those sounds, as that will help them to find each other.
"Although we believe the herd already knows where their baby it, they have not yet come for him, so we will wait for another few days before we start to push him back.''