Trapped wild elephant rescued from muddy pond in SW China's Yunnan

Local police at the border police station of Mengman township, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province rescued a trapped wild Asian elephant on March 13, 2023.

Photo shows a wild Asian elephant trapped in a muddy pond. Outside the pond, another elephant tries to help the trapped one out of the pond. (Photo/Gan Si)

Police received a report on the morning of that day that a herd of wild Asian elephants was spotted playing in a forest, but one of them had accidentally fallen into a muddy pond.

When the police arrived at the site, they saw the trapped elephant trying to get out of the pond while another one stretching out its trunk and leg in an attempt to reach the one stuck in the pond. However, the trapped elephant was unable to climb out of the deep and slippery pond.

A rescuer operates a drone to have a clear view of the trapped elephant from above. (Photo/Gan Si)

The police then immediately reported the situation to the local government, the local forestry and grassland bureau and the forest police brigade, evacuated nearby villagers and dispatched drones and excavators to the site.

After finding out that the elephant couldn't get out of the pond on its own, rescuers used an excavator to create a slope, and the elephant finally managed to climb out through the slope.

An excavator digs a passage for the trapped elephant to climb out of the pond. (Photo/Gao Huaisong)

"After climbing out of the pond, the elephant raised its trunk in front of us, and it seemed to be saying 'Thank you' to us," said the excavator driver.

The border police said that the trapped adult elephant weighs around 2.5 tonnes, and has safely returned to the nature reserve.