A baby elephant stuck in a muddy pond was rescued in Thailand.

The juvenile jumbo estimated to be five-years-old wandered away from its herd and strayed into a farm in Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand.

It slipped down a 3.3 ft (1 metre) deep ditch and was wading in thick sludge when it was found by locals who reported it to national park officers on November 2.

Footage shows the scared baby elephant raising its trunk while trying to escape the wetland but without success. Kuiburi National Park officers used a bulldozer to pave the way for the animal to climb out.

National Park Chief Atthapong Phaoon said: 'The elephant was tired, possibly from trying to climb the pond.

'We decided to use machinery and dig a pathway to the pond so the animal can safely walk out.'

The officers spent almost three hours before successfully guiding it back to the forest.

The elephant was unhurt and monitored by park rangers until it was safely reunited with family.

Thailand has up to 3,500 elephants in the wild. The population has been increasing in recent years, but it is still a fraction of the estimated 300,000 wild elephants that lived in the country 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.