The Karnali River spares no one. When floods ravaged Nepal, sweeping away trucks, homes, and people, a herd of elephants became trapped in the same current that left more than 150 people dead.
They did not let go. Amid the murky water and debris, the adults surrounded the calves and taught them to breathe through their trunks so they would not sink, swimming for miles to the dam in Bahraich district, already in Indian territory.
The images show the exact moment when the herd emerges from the water, exhausted but complete. While rescue teams continued searching for hundreds of people missing between Nepal and Tibet, these elephants had already figured out, in their own way, how to survive together 🐘
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