Inter-species cooperation has helped save a herd of elephants that fell into an old bomb crater full of mud.
The 11 Asian elephants were found stuck in the crater at Kei Seima Wildlife Sanctuary on March 24, according to the Cambodia Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
The herd - three adult females and eight juveniles - thought the crater would be a good spot to get a drink, but couldn't get out.
Local farmers stumbled across the unlucky group, and alerted the authorities.
Members of WCS carved out a ramp for the elephants, who pushed one another up using their trunks.
The final elephant, a juvenile, couldn't make it on its own however, so was pulled out with ropes.
"Too often, the stories around conservation are about conflict and failure, but this one is about cooperation and success," said Ross Sinclair, country director for WCS in Cambodia.
"That the last elephant to be rescued needed everyone to pull together on a rope to drag it to safety is symbolic of how we have to work together for conservation."
The last elephant's rescue wasn't caught on camera due to the deteriorating weather, WCS said on Facebook.
Farmers in the area have been blamed for putting the species at risk, through a combination of conflict and habitat loss. It's estimated there are around 40,000 Asian elephants left in the wild.
Let's hope neither the farmers nor the elephants forget this act of kindness.
Newshub.
