A wild elephant was rescued by locals after it fell into a 7ft deep reservoir in Thailand.

Concerned locals called forest rangers when they found the jumbo named Plai Salika stuck in the water-filled pit behind a resort in Nakhon Nayok this morning at 7 am.

The hapless male jumbo had been wandering alone through the area before slipping into the dirty pool, which is used for agricultural storage for irrigation.

Footage shows the bull desperately clambering up the reservoir's muddy banks, which were too steep and slippery for it to climb out from.

The locals noticed that Plai Salika was becoming exhausted, so they quickly provided him with some fruits, including jackfruit, pineapple, and banana tree, to help replenish his energy.

Meanwhile, the rescue team used a backhoe to level the reservoir's slopes, allowing Plai Salika to regain his footing and climb out of the pond after more than two hours.

The tired pachyderm was seen trundling back towards the woods after the rescue. Wildlife rangers will now track him using the device around his neck to ensure he is safe.

Onlooker Jinwimon Mahasup, a conservationist who follows the movements of wild elephants in the area, said Plai Salika had been fallen into the pit during darkness and been stuck for five or six hours.

She said: 'Plai Salika is one of the most well-known elephants in the area. He is friendly but now he seems to be becoming a bit clumsy in his old age. It's normally younger elephants that fall into wells and pits.

'It was a relief to see that he was safe when he came out of the pond. There is nothing more beautiful than an elephant in the wild.'

As of 2023, there are an estimated 3,084-3,500 wild elephants in Thailand. The population has been increasing in recent years, but it is still a fraction of the estimated 300,000 wild elephants that lived in Thailand at the beginning of the 20th century. The main threats to wild elephants in Thailand are habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and conflict with humans.