Elephants are one of the most fascinating and at the same time dangerous species of animals.
They are beautiful creatures with a highly developed sense of empathy and significant emotional intelligence.
However, people hunt and kill them for something they have and that man cannot produce: ivory. Humans kill elephants by shooting or poisoning them, which has led to the species becoming “ecologically extinct”. Apart from that, humans also capture elephants and use them as touristic attractions or means of transport, which leads the poor animals to exhaustion and early death.
While they have been accused of killing people, this is only the result of human actions: linear infrastructure and turning forests into farmlands have forced elephants out of their natural surroundings and they have ended up living along with people in some parts of the world.
There have been instances in India, for example, in which humans have been killed by elephants who panicked when they came face to face with them and couldn’t control their trunks. But this has nothing to do with the animals’ intentions towards humans.
In fact, these huge creatures are willing to help humans if they think they are in danger. Just like Kham La did for a man named Darrick a few years ago.
In 2016, 5-year old Kham La was brought in the Elephant Nature Park in Thailand.
The baby elephant was separated from her mother at an early age and had to go through the “breaking spirits” ceremony that intends to make elephants submit to humans. She soon started being trained to participate in performances, but she was lucky enough to be rescued.
Eventually, Kham La was taken to the Elephant Nature Park and was reunited with her mother, which made both of them extremely happy, although at first, her mother was reluctant because of the trauma their previous separation had caused her.
During that same year, Kham La had the chance to prove to everyone that elephants are indeed kind-hearted animals that have no intention to hurt humans- on the contrary, they are ready to offer a helping… paw if they see a human in trouble.
Indeed, Kham La saved a human’s life- or at least that’s what she intended to do, when she saw a man floating in the river.
Darrick was in the river- probably just swimming because he didn’t seem to be in distress- when Kham La spotted him. She knew she had to help him and she immediately took action.
The elephant rushed in the water and started moving towards the man hurriedly. When Darrick realized Kham La was coming his way, he started swimming to the river bank, possibly scared that if the huge animal came too close to him, an accident could happen.
Kham La soon approaches Darrick and he looks happy that she went through all this trouble just to save him. The elephant extends her trunk, which the man could use as a pool noodle to stay afloat. The two come together in what looks like a sweet hug, and the man turns his face towards the camera smiling!
The heartwarming video, which has gone viral with more than 16 million views, is available to you below with just one click.
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