These are the astonishing pictures of rescuers saving a giraffe that was stuck down a drain.
Spot the mistake: The beautiful beast struggles in vain to escape the septic tank it has fallen into
Group bonding: A crowd of locals join in the effort to save the enormous two ton giraffe at the Marloth Park game reserve in South Africa
Local vet Cobus Raath told how his team was called in to try to save the frightened animal.
Blind man’s buff: The team cover the giraffe’s eye in an effort to keep it calm as they pull it from the ground
He said: ‘The animal was distressed and had been trying to get out.
‘We decided not to incapacitate him but blindfolded him to try and calm him down.
‘We then called a load of local people who rushed to help and we used ropes and brute force to pull him out of the hole sideways.
Back on his feet: After hours of struggling, the animal gets into an upright position
The lucky animal was today being monitored by staff at its home inside the Marloth Park reserve, which lies in eastern South Africa near the country’s famous Kruger National Park.