Digger rescue

Staff at a game reserve in South Africa responded in a rather unconventional manner when they spotted a black rhino in distress. The animal had wandered into a dried up watering hole, but then proved unable to extricate itself from the deep mud. The team from the game reserve brought in a backhoe loader to help the animal. The machine was used to dig a way through the soft ground to the rhino, which was then able to scramble free, although it did try to headbutt the digger bucket when it came close. Other options such as attempting to drag the animal free using a rope and tranquilising it with a dart gun had been considered but quickly discounted as being impractical. It was not available for comment afterwards.