A baby elephant with its leg trapped in a snare was rescued in Thailand.

Wildlife officers found the injured calf while patrolling the Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary in Chanthaburi province on December 24.

The baby elephant had a nylon rope constricting its front right leg, preventing it from walking properly.

Veterinarian Sirawit Sapanek said: 'At 4pm, the injured elephant was found with a herd of around 60 elephants. It had an injury on its front right leg from the rope and it to be unable to put weight on that foot.'

Staff from the Protected Areas Regional Office 2 shot the calf and its mother with tranquilisers before cutting the nylon snare from its injured leg.

Vets said the 15-inch-deep wound had already begun to fester and was infested with maggots. The calf also had other injuries that had already healed.

The rescue team administered tetanus vaccines and disinfected the wound. They then gave anti-sedatives to the mother and calf pair, allowing the two to rejoin their herd.

Snares in Thailand are commonly used by poachers to catch animals such as tigers, elephants, or pangolins in the country's dense forests. These traps, often made from simple materials like wires or ropes, are indiscriminate and can severely injure or kill protected wildlife.

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.