These pictures show how a band of volunteers managed to rescue an elephant who had got herself in a tight spot by falling into a sewage drain.
The elephant cow had accidentally stepped into the three foot by four foot channel during the night at Ugab Rest Camp in Namibia and found herself in too deep to clamber out.
Guests and staff only found her the next morning and they quickly set about trying to help her.
Reaching for hoses and shovels they tried to keep her cool by dousing her in water and then coating her in dust.
But after help failed to arrive, the volunteers began shovelling sand and rock into the ditch in the hope they could raise it enough that she could step out.
Archie van der Merwe, who runs Laramon Tours, witnessed the elephant's 11 hour ordeal.
'We couldn't just stand around any longer and watch the animal suffer, so we decided that the rest camp's swimming pool pump could drain the water, which was knee deep,' he said.
'Then we filled it with sand and rock, so the elephant could get on higher ground.
'Her knees were just under the point where she could bend them, so a little higher up would do the trick.
'After another hour under a very hot Namibian sun, the water was pumped out, the volunteers threw rocks into the hole to fill it up.
'She didn't want to move though, so they threw in sand too, compacting the stones until it was about a half meter higher.
'It was as if she understood what they were doing as she never tried anything aggressive toward them.'
After three hours, the elephant suddenly came up on her hind legs and started to clamber out.
Mr Van der Merwe added: 'It was totally worth the effort.
'Everybody that helped with the rescue went to the swimming pool afterwards to cool themselves and have a drink to celebrate her rescue.'
Source : dailymail
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