Wildlife Team Rescue Elephant Caught By Poacher's Snare

A wildlife rescue team were quick to think on their feet and save an elephant after she was spotted with her foot caught in a hunter's snare.

The elephant, named Martha, was seen wandering the plains of Zimbabwe with the snare wrapped tightly around her foot.

Caters

The elephant had her young calf with her and tragically would have died had it not been for her rescuers.

Conservationist Catherine Norton, 58, was called to the Musango Island Safari Camp after the owner saw the adult elephant, named Martha, struggling to walk.

Catherine said, "We had to immobilise Martha, because without our intervention she would have died.

"She had a calf with her, who was still dependant on her.

"There was a wire snare digging deep into her left front leg, crippling her and causing severe pain.

Caters

"We had to clean the wound and as it was infected, give her antibiotics and remove the snare with wire cutters.

"It only took her a few minutes to come around but the outcome could have been so much worse."

Catherine added: "It shows how much damage can be done to an innocent animal with just one piece of wire.

"One poacher could set up to twenty snares a day, leaving the animal suffering for days.

"Poaching isn't just about shooting and axes.

Caters

"This method is just as cruel and equally as deadly."

Earlier this week, an elephant dubbed 'the world's loneliest' was seen making his first friend in eight years after being moved to a wildlife sanctuary.

The elephant, named Kaavan, was rescued from Pakistan and flown over to Cambodia, having arrived in the country on a charter flight on 29 November.

The 36-year-old male is now settling into his brand-new home at Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary in Siem Reap province, where he's getting to know the other elephants.

In one emotional shot, Kaavan could be seen touching trunks with a nearby female elephant.

Kaavan, who is originally from Sri Lanka, became the only Asian elephant in Pakistan while living at a zoo in Islamabad for 35 years, where he didn't have any proper care or socialisation.

His partner died in 2012, earning him the heart-breaking nickname of the 'world's loneliest elephant', prompting animal rights groups launched a campaign to get the elephant out of the zoo and among more of his own kind.

Topics: World News, Animals

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19