Rescuing elephants trapped in pits and sinkholes has become an all-too-familiar challenge for the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
In 2025 alone, the Kenya-based conservation organization assisted in 17 similar rescues. In parts of the country, particularly around the geologically active Great Rift Valley, sinkholes and ground fissures can pose serious dangers to wildlife.
On February 25, another urgent rescue began.
The Kenya Wildlife Service received reports that a bull elephant had become trapped shoulder-deep in a sinkhole in Chakama, roughly 30 miles inland from Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast.
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust pilot Roan Carr-Hartley flew to the area and joined Kenya Wildlife Service officers and members of the Kulalu anti-poaching team.
When they arrived, they found the elephant in a precarious situation.
The sinkhole was too deep and steep for the bull to climb out on his own, yet it was large enough for him to move around inside. That movement made it extremely difficult for rescuers to position the straps they needed to pull him free.
The frightened elephant was also highly agitated, meaning the team had to work carefully while keeping a safe distance.
Carr-Hartley contacted veterinarian Campaign Limo, who leads a mobile veterinary unit in the Greater Tsavo Conservation Area. However, Limo was already occupied with another wildlife emergency and was too far away to reach the scene quickly.
With no veterinarian available to sedate the elephant, the team decided they could not afford to wait.
They would have to attempt the rescue while the bull remained f