Six baby elephants have died after attempting to rescue one another from falling into a waterfall in southern Thailand.
Hell’s Fall waterfall has become notorious among locals in the area after a herd of elephant’s fell to their death in 1992.
The deaths occurred after the brave elephants mounted a rescue attempt for one of their own who had fallen in.
Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) said officials were called to the scene in southern Thailand’s Khao Yai National Park on Saturday at 3.00am when a group of elephants was blocking a road by the waterfall.
Three hours after officials were on scene a body of a young elephant was found at the base of the waterfall.
Shortly after this, another five bodies were found nearby.
Two elephants were seen to be stuck on a ledge near to the waterfall and were thrown food by the officials to give them a boost in strength to help them climb back up.
Thankfully, the two elephants that were stuck on the edge have since been rescued but are said to be extremely distressed.
Two other elephants have since were spotted on a cliff edge nearby, but Thai officials have since managed to rescue them from the ledge they were stuck on.
Edwin Wiek, founder of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, said any elephants left in the herd would have difficulty surviving as the animals rely on each other for protection and finding food.
‘It’s like losing half your family,’ Mr Wiek told the BBC.
‘There’s nothing you can do, it’s nature unfortunately,’ he said.
Around 7,000 Asian elephants remain in Thailand, but around half of those living in captivity.
Sources: autodailyz.com
