Elephant Struggles in Swamp, but Village Bands Together to Rescue It

A community sprang into action to rescue a female elephant that was stranded in a swamp. 

People in Sundergarh, India, knew they had to help when they found the elephant struggling to get out of deep water on Thursday, Reuters reported. 

Forest, police and fire officials gave the villagers the tools they needed to help the elephant. 

In a video of the rescue, people use ropes under the elephant's legs to help flip her over, pulling with all of their might. 

When they finally manage to get her out of the water, she struggles to her knees, and then her feet.

She lets out a trumpeting sound before running off into the forest to rejoin her herd. 

The whole effort took between two and three hours, a station officer at the Uttara Fire Station told Reuters. 

The villagers cheered as she finally escaped, thanks to their kindness.

And as the saying goes, an elephant never forgets. 

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