This is the heartwarming moment an exhausted mother elephant and her baby stuck who were stuck in a hole for two nights were rescued using an excavator.

The pair of jumbos wandered outside the safety of Lam Khlong Ngu national park while searching for food in Kanchanaburi, western Thailand on Saturday, February 25.

But while moving through a clearing lined with fruit trees, the baby is believed to have slipped down a 15ft-deep pit that was reportedly dug to build a well.

Fearing for her child, the mother elephant followed down the slopes but struggled to escape. She spent the night trying to leave the pit without success.

The tired and hungry animals were only found later the next day on Sunday afternoon, February 26.

Footage shows the hungry mother jumbo eating sugarcane stalks given to her by wildlife rangers. Her baby was standing beside her while the staff planned the rescue mission.

National park conservationists spent the night monitoring the jumbos then used excavators to break down the steep slopes and the pair clambered out and ran into the woodland this morning, February 27.

Veterinarian Pattarapol Maneeon said: ‘We advised locals to keep their distance from the area because there was an elephant herd nearby. They might have been looking for the lost mother and baby.

'The mother and her baby have spent quite a while stuck down there.'

Officials said there were reports from locals that 10 wild elephants that were seen on Saturday wandering near the border of the village were searching for the missing members of their herd.

The team fed the elephant mum some bananas and sugar cane, so she could regain her strength after hours of breastfeeding the baby trapped under the pit without food.

Meanwhile, the wildlife department's acting chief Attapol Charoenchansa sent heavy construction equipment to assist the team.

Park rangers were on standby while the excavator smashed a walkway from the hole leading to higher ground.

The mother elephant let her offspring walk up the ramp first while she walked closely behind.

Vet Pattarapol took a photo of the elephant duo where they were seen emerging from the hole while facing the rescuers' direction and the bright sun rays shone on them.

He said: ‘The sunrise felt like hope for the animals. It symbolised that the light continues, that there are people who will work to help keep the wild animals safe in their home. It's hard but everyone is working together.'

Upon being freed, they lingered for a moment and eagerly walked back to the direction of the forest. The mother and her baby were safe and returned to their herd after the mission.

Thailand has an estimated 2,000 Asian elephants living in the wild where they wander freely among protected forests. Male Asian elephants, unlike African elephants, roam alone once they are over 10 years old while females remain with the herd.

There is sometimes conflict when they come into contact with humans on roads and in villages so wildlife rangers are tasked with monitoring their movements.

An estimated 3,000 elephants in the country are also kept in captivity to work in the tourist industry or at religious festivals and weddings. A small number still work in commercial logging.