The elephant, aged five or six, is suffering from serious injuries to his trunk and feet caused by the traps; the wounds are also infected with gangrene. Without timely treatment, he will die, said Tran Van Thanh, director of the province's Yok Don National Park.

Four experienced mahouts are trying to control the elephant so that rescue workers can remove the traps and treat him, said Thanh, but the process is difficult, as the animal is not domesticated.

Experts from HCM City Zoological and Botanical Garden are on hand for support.

There are more than 80 wild elephants and 52 domestic elephants living in the province. While local rangers make regular patrols to detect and destroy traps and punish poachers, the traps still present a real danger to wild elephant bulls.