A playful elephant charged at its rescuers after it was saved from a mud pool at the side of the road.

Philip Keevy was leading a tour through Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa, on November 20 when he spotted a team trying to save a trapped animal.

Cute footage shows the group of rescuers use a jeep to pull the hefty elephant out of the claggy mud and up to its feet quickly.

As thanks, the young creature – believed to be four years old – chased after the men not once but twice before making it back across the mud pool to its herd.

Philip said: “I had a good laugh but admired the rangers who weren’t afraid of the elephants and did a very brave job.

“It was stuck in the mud next to the Hapoor Dam. It must have been stuck there for some time because some Parks Board members was already on the scene when I arrived.

“They had some ropes that were thrown over its head which were then fastened to a Parks Board vehicle and they pulled the elephant out.

“Once the ropes were thrown over the elephant’s head it took only a few minutes to rescue it.

“When it was stuck in the mud, the elephant looked very small but chasing the wardens around it was much bigger and with lots of bravo.”