A 15-year-old male elephant rescued from a muddy canal in Thailand's northern Phitsanulok province has only a 50-50 chance of survival due to its broken legs, a veterinarian said.

The elephant, now named Tara, was lifted on Thursday using two backhoes, placed in a truck and taken to an elephant hospital in Lampang province, 180km away.

Rescuers and civilians took 26 hours to pull him out of the canal and six hours to move him 300m from the bank of the canal into the truck.

Tara was spotted in the canal close to Thungsalangluang National Park on Wednesday. Rescue attempts that day failed due to strong currents and Tara's reluctance to be helped.