A hapless elephant calf separated from its herd has been rescued by wildlife officials in Thailand.

The female calf, estimated to be around two months old, was found by villagers wandering around outside a wildlife sanctuary in Bueng Kan province on September 12.

The locals called officers from the Protected Areas Regional Office 10, who arrived at the scene at the edge of a forest in the Bung Khla District.

They found the baby jumbo covered in mud and built a small enclosure for it hoping its herd would come back.

They observed the animal overnight, but its herd never arrived to retrieve it.

Veterinarians and personnel have loaded the calf onto a pick-up truck to be transported to a sanctuary. The elephant is currently being monitored by staff of Protected Areas Regional Office 10.

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.