Elephants are one of those gentle giants that you can’t just ignore.
Their disposition towards fellow elephants, other animals, and humans is remarkable, to say the least.
They’re highly sociable and friendly, so it’s easy for a human who is taking care of or looking after animals to get close to them.
They are also empathetic beings, and they know how to comfort someone in distress.
A study observed how elephants try to console other elephants by stroking one another with their trunks.
It’s like how humans stroke someone’s back or hug them when they’re sad.
They can detect how you feel and read the situation better than you thought (even better than humans!).
It’s no wonder why this elephant jumped into the water to save a man in the river.
Kham La is among the many rescued elephants in Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
She’s been a friend to many and loved being with her fellow elephants. She welcomed them when they arrived in the sanctuary and shared the excellent mud bath spots they could enjoy together.
Kham La did not only grow close to elephants but to humans, too. Especially one particular human: Darrick Thomson.
Darrick works for Elephant Nature Park and has been there for years.
He helped coordinate rescue operations to save these poor animals from poaching and abuse.
No wonder the elephants loved him, especially Kham La!
One day, he went to the river with the rest of the elephants.
The water current was moving faster and stronger that time, though the river was not very deep.
Darrick decided to go on for a swim because there was no harm in doing so anyway.
He swam with the current but did not expect what would happen next.
Kham La saw Darrick, and she immediately went into the water.
He wasn’t even in danger; he enjoyed his time swimming. It’s just that with how the water was rushing and Darrick swimming along with it, it looked like he was drowning, and she wanted to rescue him.
As Darrick swam closer to the opposite bank, Kham La was also going in the same direction.
She swam towards Darrick and, even if he was already very close to the riverbank, reached out her trunk for him to hang on to.
She even pushed him closer to safety, and Darrick couldn’t help but laugh at his dear elephant friend.
Kham La never left his side until she was sure Darrick was okay.
It’s incredible how animals look after our welfare, especially elephants, who must have distrusted humans at some point.
The video description says:
“This can show us that when we treat (an) animal with love, they always paid love back to us.”
Darrick must have shown Kham La lots of love for her to save him even if he wasn’t drowning.
Viewers also poured their admiration for Kham La in the comments section.
Katherine Uribe said:
“How can anyone think that animals, especially elephants, don’t have feelings? That young elephant went to help the man it felt bonded to, just as elephant family groups help individuals in distress. Lovely footage!”
Watch the adorable video below, and give Kham La and Darrick some love!
