Guwahati, Aug. 23 -- A young elephant in Assam, which had wandered out of Kaziranga National Park in search of food, was rescued on Friday after becoming trapped in a deep muddy pit near a fringe village.

Forest officials said local residents first spotted the struggling elephant calf early in the morning and immediately alerted the forest department. A rescue team, led by Kaziranga forest staff, rushed to the site with an excavator to carry out the operation.

"The elephant calf had slipped into the pit and was unable to come out on its own. Without timely intervention, it could have been seriously injured or exhausted," said a forest officer involved in the rescue.

The team carefully cleared the muddy edges using the excavator, creati...