This is the heartwarming moment an exhausted elderly elephant was rescued from a muddy swamp after being trapped there for at least eight hours.

The wandering elephant named Nimnuan was rummaging through the undergrowth for food, when she stepped on soft soil and slipped into the pond in Sakon Nakhon, northeastern Thailand yesterday September 8.

Villager Pradit Lakpusaen saw the forty-nine year-old elephant fall then struggle to climb up the steep and slippery banks. He said the muddy pit had been formed from heavy monsoon rains in recent weeks.

The local said: ''She looked very exhausted trying to get out of there. I rushed back to tell the village chief to contact the park officers.

''Normally, wild elephants won't come near the village during the rainy season. I'm not sure why Nimnuan came out here alone and unfortunately caused herself a lot of problems.''

Footage from around 11:00am shows more than 20 park rangers and vets at the scene. They began to attach ropes on the elephant, which was estimated to weigh four tonnes.

The rescuers struggling to free Nimnuan as she was too exhausted to move or pull herself up, while half of her body was was seen sinking into the filthy hole.

The team successfully pulled the hapless elephant out of the mud pool around 7:00pm on the same day, after providing her with food and medicine.

This is the heart-warming moment an exhausted elderly elephant was rescued from a muddy swamp after being trapped there for more than eight hours.

The clumsy jumbo named Nimnuan was rummaging through the undergrowth munching on plants when she stepped on soft soil and slipped into the pond in Sakon Nakhon, northeastern Thailand yesterday (08/09).

Villager Pradit Lakpusaen saw the forty-nine year-old elephant fall then struggle to climb up the steep and slippery banks. He said the muddy pit had been formed from heavy monsoon rains in recent weeks.

The local said: ''She looked very exhausted trying to get out of there. I rushed back to tell the village chief to contact the park officers.

''Normally, wild elephants won't come near the village during the rainy season. I'm not sure why Nimnuan came out here alone and unfortunately caused herself a lot of problems.''

Footage from around 11am shows more than 20 park rangers and vets at the scene. They began to attach ropes on the elephant, which was estimated to weigh four tonnes.

The rescuers struggling to free Nimnuan as she was too exhausted to move or pull herself up, while half of her body was was seen sinking into the filthy hole.

The team successfully pulled the hapless elephant out of the mud pool around 7pm on the same day. Nimnuan took a moment to rest before trudging back into the forest.

Sakon Nakhon governor Wittaya Chanchalong said that the rescue took longer than expected because they had to have short breaks for the elephant.

He said: ''The elderly elephant nearly collapsed many times during the rescue.Vets had to inject stimulants for her as well because we were afraid that she wouldn't make it.

''We also did the check-up on her and fed her with food and water. We finally let her return to the wild when we were positive that she was totally recovered.''