Human use digger to rescue baby elephant from ditch in dramatic footage

Footage shows one of the herd raising its trunk towards the rescuers after animal is saved

A baby elephant has been filmed being rescued by a group of people using a mechanical digger.

In footage posted online, the distressed animal can be seen attempting to clamber out of a deep trench.

A group of local men use the digger to scoop soil into the hole to create a path so that the elephant can clamber out.

When the animal rejoins its herd, one of the older elephants - possibly its mother - turns towards the group of people and raises its trunk in their direction.

Some viewers had suggested this was a way of saying thank you, but elephant expert Dr Joyce Pool from the charity ElephantVoices said the move was known as "periscope sniffing" - because of the shape the animal makes with its trunk - and was more likely a sign of distress.

She told The Independent: "Elephants use these most often when they feel threatened or uneasy and are trying to learn more about the threat they face.

"Though they may have understood that the people were trying to help, there was a lot of noise from the digger and people alike, that would have stressed them - in addition to their concern for a family member’s predicament."

At the end of the video, the animals turn and together walk across a river, to cheers from the onlooking crowd.

The footage is believed to have been filmed in India in recent weeks.