Mighty Elephant Rescues Stuck Toyota Fortuner From River
Elephants have historically been one of the most important animals in India. They are worshipped in many cultures, and they have been an integral part of many dynasties over the years. Recently, a video has gone viral on the internet in which an elephant was seen helping in the rescue of a Toyota Fortuner that got royally stuck in a river. This video shows how much sheer strength these majestic animals possess, yet they are so trained that they help humans stuck in situations.
Elephant rescues a Toyota Fortuner
This video of an elephant rescuing a Toyota Fortuner SUV has been shared on Instagram by Saidokya90 on their page. In this short clip, what happens is that a white-colored first-generation Toyota Fortuner was stuck inside a river. We can note that, except for the front left wheel, the rest of the wheels of this SUV were submerged in water.
What happens next is that a mahout (for those who may not be aware, a mahout is someone who trains and takes care of an elephant) was called with his elephant. This particular elephant's name is Thirvegappura Sankaranarayanan, and it is a very popular elephant from Palakkad, Kerala. In this scenario, he was seen helping in the rescue of this Fortuner.
In the clip, the mahout can be seen guiding the elephant to grab the rope which was tied to the Fortuner’s front axle. Following this, the elephant grabs this rope by its trunk and starts pulling the vehicle out. We can observe that the sheer strength of the elephant almost lifted the entire SUV. This particular maneuver went on for a couple of times before the Fortuner was completely brought out of the river.
Not the first time that an elephant has helped in rescue
This is not the first time that we have seen an elephant rescuing a vehicle stuck in sand. A little while ago, another video was shared online in which an elephant was seen helping a Mahindra Scorpio come out of a sticky situation. A thick rope was tied to the front tow hook of the Mahindra Scorpio, and this rope was then held by the trunk of the elephant.
Following this, the mahout guided the elephant to take a step back. And just with a single tug, the elephant was able to bring out the front wheels of the stuck Scorpio. Soon after this, the video showed that the elephant was once again given the rope. This time around, the keeper kept letting him go back until the Scorpio came out of the mud completely from the front and rear.
Real strength of an elephant
For those who may not be aware, an elephant can easily lift up to 250–300 kg using their trunks alone. For this reason, they have historically been used as helpers in the construction of large forts and palaces across the country by rulers of many dynasties. Today, these giant yet gentle animals are trained for temple rituals and for the mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts.
It, however, has to be noted that we are talking about trained elephants. The wild elephants which live in the jungle are very different. If they are agitated or they feel threatened, they can attack humans as well. Over the years, we have seen numerous incidents in which wild elephants have attacked humans and have crushed their vehicles.