A tiny elephant calf was spotted with a deeply embedded snare in the Thornybush Nature Reserve. A vet went out in the helicopter to locate and treat the calf. Once relocated, the vet darted both mom and baby, as the calf was too young and the vet would not be able to remove the snare with mom nearby.  The snare was a thin cable which had caused a deep wounding and maggot infestation.

Full recovery is expected though with no apparent damage to critical ligaments or tendons. A bacterial swab was collected for culture and antibiogram. This operation was supported by Hoedspruit's snare rescue group which includes Wild Wonderful World, Down2TheWire, Blue Sky Society, Elephants Alive, Scales Conservation Fund and African Wildlife Vets.

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