An injured elephant was rescued after spending two days stuck in a muddy pit.

The male jumbo, aged between 20 to 25, wandered into the drainage pond in Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand on Saturday (January 2).

However, concerned locals noticed the elephant the next day and thought he would climb out but he was still stuck in the pond on Monday morning (Jan 4).

Vets arrived and found that the 3,000kg elephant had an injured leg which had started to swell. However, the elephant refused to leave the pit.

Wildlife rangers shot its backside with a tranquilliser dart before it was lifted out by a crane from the swamp at the Kui Buri National Park.

Pavinee Kaewgam, the veterinarian, believes the elephant had been injured and climbed into the water to try and heal itself.

‘This is the elephant’s natural instinct,’ he said.

However, despite venturing into the muddy pit, the elephant was unable to climb back out due to the steep sides.

Suporn Polpan, the head of Kui Buri National Park, said he had asked officials to put on a sign that warns locals and pedestrians to be careful of getting near the elephant. They urged people not to disturb the jumbo.

Suporn said that his team had been monitoring the elephant since December 10, when the injury was first seen. He said the beast had been given long-distance shots and antibiotics to stop the infection in the leg.

They are now keeping the elephant under observation while treating the leg injury.