An adorable video is going viral of a young Elephant bravely running into a raging river to ‘save’ a human who actually first saved her.
The young Elephant, Kham Lha, is one of the youngest residents at the Thailand Elephant Nature Park, an Elephant rescue and rehabilitation center in Northern Thailand.
Kham Lha was one of 19 elephants, that the sanctuary rescued from the tourism industry in 2015.
Before being brought to the park, the little 4 year old had been badly beaten, enduring a cruel training method called ‘crushing’, where young elephants are tied up and beaten into submission.
The method is used in Thailand’s elephant tourism industry to make elephants more subdued and safer for holidaymakers to ride.
Trainer Darrick Thomson, 42, says he has formed an ‘inseparable bond’ with Kham Lha since she was rescued and brought to the reserve last year.
“Kham Lha was in a really bad way when she came to us.”
“She had been tied up and forced to undergo cruel training known as crushing to prepare her to work in the tourist industry.”
“We freed her and helped her to recover. She became really close to me and we formed a strong bond.”
The little Elephant bond with Darrick is so strong, that her affection towards him caused her to leap into life-guard mode when she thought he was in danger.
“This definitely show us, that when we treat animals with love, they always pay love back to us.”
Watch the awesome clip below:
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