Baby elephant rescued after falling into an empty ditch at Chinese nature reserve

A baby elephant almost found its way into an early grave after falling into a hole at a nature reserve in southwestern China’s Yunnan province.

The calf was immediately trapped in four walls of fine dry earth and struggled to rise again.

Fortunately, some local villagers found the starving and dehydrated animal squealing for help on Tuesday and documenting its amusing rescue.

The police arrived with some basic tools to help it get out of its temporary detention about two meters deep.

In the footage, one man can be seen using a rake to break through the dry soil while another pours water down the hole for the elephant to drink through its trunk.

The calf has difficulty getting up, and its legs slip and slide because the ground is unstable and hard to steady.

However, it gets a lot of encouragement from the group, who cheer it on as it lifts itself to freedom.

The exhausted elephant takes a lot of strength to move its body, and it stops to rest while hanging from the hole.

One of the rescuers said: ‘Looking at the tracks at the scene, it probably fell yesterday [Monday].

“Because it rained yesterday, the ground around the hole was slippery.”

After a necessary break, the elephant continues with the strenuous, life-saving exercise.

An hour down the stream, it reaches the top and roams freely in the woods while onlookers wail with excitement.