The Americas, Weird, Odd & Just Plain Fun



Wild elephants are being drawn into inhabited areas more frequently.

Elephant assistance for driver stuck in the mud. Image by Haiderali44 / CC BY 2.0

A quick-thinking lorry driver found the answer to a jumbo-sized problem when his rig became stuck in mud and threatened to overturn – he made a trunk call.

Police in Louisiana who arrived at the highway scene were astounded to see what was keeping the rig from overturning … the cargo of elephants.

Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office said the truck, carrying three elephants from New Orleans to Dallas, Texas, got stuck when it pulled over on the shoulder of Interstate 49 near Powhatan, about halfway through its trip.

The truck was leaning toward a ditch, but the driver led two of the elephants on to the slope and used them to help prop up the vehicle.

Police did not say who owned the elephants or the truck. A recovery vehicle later pulled the rig out of the mud. The driver was not prosecuted.