Top 5 Most Tense Elephant Moments | BBC Earth

The largest living land mammals don't have an easy time of it! Here are our most nail-biting elephant moments.

Video Script:: 

the dart falls out but it's already delivered its payload of tranquilizer thankfully little pink fruits family is at hand but this could still go badly wrong Sylvia or her family could charge and force the team to withdraw Sylvia could fall awkwardly a huge bulk could restrict her ability to breathe she could suffocate worse still she could fall on little pink foot and crush her but first things are looking good but then Sylvia puts out a distress call little pink foot responds she runs back to Sylvia and stands right underneath her three ton bulk for her being right under mum is the safest place in the world [Applause] David in the team tried to flush little pink foot out with their vehicles but she just won't budge eventually David does the unthinkable he risks his own life to save little paint for us if Silvia goes down now she could easily crush them both [Applause] but even little pinkfoot weighs a hundred kilos moving her takes for the rest of the herd are wild with distress they could charge at any moment well I do i tender little pink foot panics the team have got to get her back to her sister side [Music] [Applause] thankfully baby elephants instinctively follow large objects so David uses his vehicle to lead her towards her family [Music] once she's safe the team can start their work the abscess is huge it's drained and cleaned thoroughly the team work as fast as they can to reduce the stress to Silvia and the rest of the herd a vet from the Kenyan Wildlife Service gives her a massive dose of antibiotics [Music] thousands of elephants get shot every year most die slowly and painfully and finally the vet gives Silvia an antidote to the tranquilizer to bring her round first the elephant's often race into pools the matriarch knows that her family must not rush any this pool is stagnant and the elephants have a trick that deals with that sediment settles to the bottom and the cleaner fresher water lies on the surface they skim it carefully from the top then as gently as elephants can they move forward slowly trying not to disturb the stagnant layers but precious water like this draws in herds from far and wide in the exuberance of greeting all their careful burger is undone when Bulls are forced together by the need for water tempers can flare [Music] Frank and the team a fitting Edison's tracking collar so this is a new type of collar that we're trying it's a little bit easier to put on at the other ones and instead of having a big lead weight at the bottom that all the brains are down in the weight as well it may look big but for an elephant it's just like wearing a watch the collars on now it's time to wake Addison up so we just go jump back in the car that was after 60 minutes the antlers just going so let's wait and see how long it takes him to the antidote counteracts the effects of the tranquilizer all going to plan Edison should be back on his feet within a couple of minutes but he's not [Music] this is what everything stops and everything gets quiet and the second hand seems to go around the watch a bit slower and you wait for him to to get up the first sign will be looking for us this is yeah twitching [Music] normally just a couple of minutes is made he's been down too long and they're worried vet Matthew Mouton de Menezes another shot of antidote [Music] my heart really isn't on earth [Music] you seen this before George yeah and like this at all [Music] it's turn this time oh thank god that's a big relief [Music] he's paying a lot of attention to it he's sniffing it thinking what how does this thing why am I wearing in vector suddenly [Music] I've only done about telling them that every elephant that I have been involved in covering needs you with a special attachment to that elephants I follow on the tracking system you know what they're like and you feel that you feel like an actor with a hand side you know Steven hi there very long life it's like some old friend failure I it's not I'll always have a feeling for Edison [Music] if they become separated they can easily drown [Music] [Music] oh my god what is gone [Music] the mothers try in vain but they can't contain all three as they save one another washes away Oh God still going and the baby's gone soon all three are being swept downstream fast through the crocodile infested waters but the currents even too much for the mothers to let their babies go [Applause] you can't see how they can possibly survive you can hear the poor female oh kappa no no no like all the big femurs are running okay one baby's out this year the other one is here Wow there are two babies actually here wow they're really tough come on big females come in please don't move oh they're coming down I hope they were symptom because they will get tired and if a crop grabs them resurrection the poor mothers just don't know what to do they have no way of lifting them out and David can't even help [Music] oh come on females get in and save the babies [Music] the riverbank is shir and the babies are weak and terrified [Music] oh man that is so relieving that's so joyful to see all of them again coming back together he needs to sedate the elephant so that the snare can be safely removed guys we are ready we go have the elephant this is good I'm happy now the vets here Fred works alongside a spotter plane to locate the injured boo [Music] he wants to dart it quickly to stop him suffering [Music] okay so uh the French managed to buy the dark and elephants taken off through the feast we're just going to try and look into [Music] choppers on the ground it's really shocking I mean to myself black on his side the Bulls breathing is labored we have to move fast to remove the snare the poachers have simply used winch cable from a truck [Music] a snare like this is cheap to make it could have called any of Weaver's found that wonderful robber to me our Father for profit the reason that this animal has endured his unimaginable pain is for this his tusks defies belief how cruel people can be to deny how senseless this whole thing is because so much suffering but for an ornament simply for an ornament he's treated with a special clay they'll help heal the wound what do you think Fred think he's you think he'll survive ah you can see the guy's body condition is good he was walking and also to getting to another bad level but he's still ok to survive you see the bone is not involved something I believe in targets ok so when the bone is in touch the soft tissue can easily really repair recover and finally the wound is treated with an antibiotic spray all that remains is to wake him up well my word new fella okay back [Music]