WATCH: Rescuers use a bulldozer to save Zim young elephant from muddy pit
Animal rescuers in Zimbabwe have used a bulldozer to save a young elephant stuck deep inside a muddy pit near the resort town of Kariba.
The elephant spent around 24 hours in the pit, while members of its herd stood anxiously nearby.
A bulldozer had to be called in to carefully shave down the sides of the pit, while the weakened animal lay motionless caked in thick mud.
But even with the pit's treacherous sides skilfully levelled, the elephant appeared unable to get up.
So the rescuers hit on another brainwave – a simple pale of fresh water.
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PICS: A timeline of events leading to Zim's historic polls
Zimbabweans go to the polls on July 30 to elect a new president, parliament and local government leaders – the first poll without Robert Mugabe on the ballot paper.
The poll is a culmination of dramatic political events triggered on November 6, when then vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa (now president) was sacked by Mugabe. Here is a timeline of the events leading to this historic poll.
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'Grace Mugabe supporters still active in Zanu-PF,' says Zim leader
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has reportedly said that he is aware that remnants of Grace Mugabe supporters are still active within the ruling Zanu-PF party, eight months after the ouster of former president Robert Mugabe.
Grace was believed to be the leader of the Zanu-PF faction known as the Generation 40 (G40) which had pushed Mnangagwa out of the party before her husband was ousted.
According to the privately-owned Standard newspaper, Mnangagwa told his supporters in Marondera over the weekend that the Zanu-PF party would no longer tolerate insults.
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'We can't boycott polls… Winners don't quit,' says MDC's Chamisa despite worries
The leader of Zimbabwe's biggest opposition party is rejecting the idea of boycotting elections on Monday despite what he calls a biased election commission.
Nelson Chamisa, head of the MDC opposition party, on Wednesday urged supporters to vote "overwhelmingly for change" in the first election since the November resignation of longtime leader Robert Mugabe.
"We can't boycott our victory," he says. "Winners don't quit."
Chamisa says Zimbabwe's election panel has not addressed his party's concerns about a number of issues, including reports of food distribution to voters by the ruling party and alleged problems with the voters' roll.
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SADC says it 'won't endorse fraudulent Zim polls' – report
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) observer mission has reportedly said that it won't endorse a fraudulent election in Zimbabwe.
According to New Zimbabwe.com, a 63 member team led by Angola's secretary of state in the external relations ministry, Tete Antonio announced the regional body's decision after a meeting with political parties over the weekend.
Instability in several southern African countries, including Zimbabwe, have cast a bad light across the region in recent years.
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Mnangagwa 'threatens to arrest opposition leader Chamisa' – report
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has reportedly threatened to arrest the country's largest opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, should he cause chaos before the country's crunch elections next week.
According to the state-owned Herald newspaper, Mnangagwa told his supporters in Mhondoro on Tuesday that his government would not tolerate anarchy ahead of the first election since long-serving ruler Robert Mugabe was forced to resign.
Mnangagwa's comments came a day after the Zimbabwe Republic Police banned a demonstration by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance that has been slated for Wednesday.
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