Not all heroes wear capes: Elephant goes viral for saving drowning gazelle at Guatemala zoo

Straits Times

a day ago

An elephant is seen pulling a gazelle out of a pond inside a Guatemala zoo. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM VIRALHOG/YOUTUBE
Not all heroes wear capes: Elephant goes viral for saving drowning gazelle at Guatemala zoo
Not all heroes wear capes. Sometimes, they have really big ears and long snouts.
An elephant was recently filmed saving a gazelle that appeared to be drowning in a pond inside an enclosure at a zoo in Guatemala.
The clip, which first appeared online on June 9, has gone viral, with over 1.5 million likes on TikTok and over 8 million views on one Facebook account.
It shows an adult elephant trying to fish a young gazelle out of a pond.
It is not clear how the gazelle found itself in this predicament. But it could be seen struggling to keep its head out of the water while trying to climb out of the pond surrounded by a high concrete mound.
Using its long and flexible trunk, the elephant is seen grabbing the gazelle's horn and trying to winch it out of the water.
Even though it loses its grip on its first attempt, it does not give up.
Going in for a second try, it manages to get a firmer grip of the gazelle's horn and, with a mighty tug, pulls it out of the water.
Some of the other gazelles look on, but seem unimpressed by their neighbour's heroics.
Visitors to the zoo watching it from afar, however, can be heard cheering in the video.
The elephant is then seen walking towards the rescued gazelle, seemingly to check on its condition.
While it may have been just another day for the elephant, videos of its heroic act have made it the internet's star of the moment.
Some netizens have also made inevitable comparisons to bipedal bad behaviour.
'Better than some humans,' said Ms Judy Tyler, on the Furry Tails Facebook page.
'Meanwhile, humans killing each other,' Mr Hadjer Bouzid chimed in on the same thread.
Others were in awe of the elephant's sense of empathy and intelligence.
'This just shows how intelligent elephants are, what a hero,' said Ms Johan Kievit, also on the Furry Tails Facebook page.
Ms Emily Brown added: 'I love how the elephant knows to pick him up by the horns.'
'And the elephant goes over to check, 'You doing okay, bud?',' Mr Eduek Moses added.
Some animals have been known to naturally exhibit heroic traits.
In June 2024, a dog ran nearly 7km to get help after his owner's truck plummeted into a ravine.
Another dog saved a whole family by barking loudly to wake them up when the houseboat they were in caught fire.
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