Even elephants understand that people are different. These smartest animals are still the subject of illegal hunting in Africa.
Like hundreds of years ago, ivory is highly prized on the black market, prompting poachers to exterminate tens of thousands of them every year.
The story of this elephant brings back the belief in humanity. He almost died from a well-aimed poacher’s shot. As luck would have it, a bullet fired in the forehead lodged in the dense bone.
Everything would be fine, but an infection got into the wound. The elephant could have died from septic shock.
The mighty animal went to people for help. The employees of the national park did not immediately understand why he purposefully walks towards them. Everyone knows cases when enraged elephants sweep away everything in their path.
But when the wounded animal approached, the huntsmen realized that he was asking for help.
Physicians and rescuers promptly arrived at the scene. So that the veterinarians could examine him, the animal was immobilized by a shot with an ampoule of a tranquilizer.
A portable X-ray showed that there were no internal injuries, but the wound itself required immediate surgery. Transportation of an elephant in this state was undesirable, therefore, he was operated on right there.
The hardest thing was to pull out the bullet, it held tightly to the skull. Nevertheless, it was safely removed, and the wound was cleaned out, treated with antibiotics and stitched. The doctors waited until the patient wakes up and comes to his senses after anesthesia.
Pretty Boy, as the reserve staff called him, did not immediately get to his feet. He even had to lean on a nearby tree. Now the rescued elephant has become one of its own for people who can and will look after its welfare.
They are determined to do everything so that he no longer has to suffer at the hands of poachers.
