Villagers in eastern Thailand worked through the early hours of Friday to save a baby elephant that had tumbled into a well on a rubber plantation.
It was looking bleak for the frantic youngster as it fought to keep its head above the water.
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To make matters worse, its agitated mother caught herself on a nearby protective electric fence and crashed, stunned, to the ground.
She quickly recovered from the shock.
Villagers, alerted by the terrified cries of the animals, called in a mechanical digger to excavate the well.
Just before dawn, about three hours after it fell into the hole, the baby elephant finally made its escape, to the cheers of its human rescuers.
It quickly rejoined its mother, and they both disappeared into a nearby forest.
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There is a large, well-established herd of wild elephants in that part of Chantaburi province.
The animals often raid local farms, eating the crops and damaging plantations.
Many farmers have put up electric fences to try to keep them out.
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