Baby elephants and mum get stuck in Indian watering hole

Three baby elephants and their mother who jumped into a watering hole for a drink had to be rescued after they got stuck in the muddy bath in northern India.

Nearby villagers woke to the sound of ‘trumpeting’ and rushed to the pond to find the four trapped elephants in Dhelsara village, Chhattisgarh state yesterday.

Locals threw branches and tree trunks into the mud to keep the panting, exhausted elephants afloat while they helped the mother escape.

Meanwhile, diggers created a slope to allow her three babies to follow her out.

One onlooker said: ‘As the villagers waited for the rescue team to arrive, they helped them keep afloat by hurling dry branches of trees and also offered them food.

‘The rescue team, armed with cranes and excavators arrived at the scene in an hour and started the operation.

‘They broadened the mouth of the water tank and made a slope for the elephants to climb out of the slushy tank.

‘The idea worked, the elephants managed to come out of the tank on their own and ran towards the jungle.’

Nice neighbours: Locals threw branches and tree trunks into the mud to keep the panting, exhausted elephants afloat and they helped the mother escape

Marching on: A digger excavated a slope which the babies managed to crawl up and the four of them ran away towards the jungle together

Happy family: The elephants looked increasingly content as they made their way further away from their waterhole hell and they neared the safety of the jungle once more