Elephant herd works together to rescue a calf from water with their trunks

Adorable photos of a mother elephant pulling her calf out of a puddle have emerged from South Africa.

The mother and her herd have come to rescue her baby – using only their trunks to get it out.

The photos were taken in Addo National Park near Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where about 600 elephants call home.

Amateur photographer Adele van Schalkwyk, who works as a technologist at a private pathology laboratory in Vredenburg, South Africa, said she could feel the emotions of the herd when taking pictures.

She said: ‘When I took these pictures, I was amazed to see the level of compassion and teamwork among the elephants helping the little one.

‘From the moment they arrived at the dam, they protected the small child. When it slipped and fell in, they quickly came together and, with their trunks, helped it out.

‘The 46-year-old photographer named the series Together with Love after one of the photos showing four elephants helping a calf.

Ms van Schalkwyk, who said she was happiest photographing ‘nature’s gifts’, added: ‘They try to keep the calf out of the water. In one of the photos, you can actually see how a person uses his trunk to try to keep him going.

‘But like a naughty child, he disobeyed and fell again. They quickly used their trunks to help him. ‘

Addo National Park is the third-largest in South Africa. The park’s original elephant area was developed in 1931 to protect the animals when there were only about 11 elephants left in the area.

Ms van Schalkwyk said: ‘A lot of elephants and animals were hunted to near extinction. It is essential to see that these animals have feelings and emotions and are not just something to profit from.

‘In today’s world, with so many things going wrong, I think we humans can learn a lot from these animals.’