Elephant is swept all the way out to sea — that’s when the navy shows up

Elephants are known to be good swimmers, using their trunks as natural snorkels. But for this particular elephant off the Sri Lanka coast, a rescue was deemed necessary. They say strong currents dragged it about 10 miles out to sea.

“They can’t keep swimming for long because they burn a lot of energy. And the salt water isn’t good for their skin, so in this case, the situation probably warranted human intervention.”