A desperate elephant herd rescued a calf from drowning in a dam by guiding and pulling it from the water.
Vanessa Holden was visiting Addo Elephant Park, South Africa, when a young animal fell into difficulty.
Dramatic footage captured the moment the frantic herd jumped into action, initially offering their trunks for the youngster to grab.
Over an agonising eight minutes, the baby was guided around the edge of the dam before eventually being lifted out of the water to safety.
Vanessa said: “I have never experienced any like it before. It was special and mind blowing to see how the herd reacted.
“They were panicked and stressed but wasted no time in calling others for help and trying to help this baby out.
“They knew how dangerous this situation was and that they needed to work fast together as a herd to get him out.
“After baby was out, it was like they were checking him to see if he was ok, feeling him with their trunks over his body and smelling him.
“It was sheer relief once the baby was out. I felt rather stressed, excited, and quite frantic myself about its safety. I was mesmerised by the herds behaviour and exhilarated by the rescue.
“I felt rather helpless knowing that there was nothing I could do to help the baby, nor the herd, that wasn't the a nice feeling to sit and just watch.”
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