Theses extraordinary images show the trust and understanding developed between children and orphaned elephants calves rescued from a forest.
Best foot forward: Nandini, eight, and Lavindya, six, the children of mahouts ride home on Sharon. The 14-month-old orphaned calf was rescued from Sathyamangalam Forests in southern India
Nandgopal, eight, and Lavindya, four, lie asleep next to Giri, an orphaned elephant calf who was rescued from Hosur Forest in southern India
Zoo staff believe without this friendship and love the orphaned elephants would have died soon after being rescued.
Bathtime: Nandini, four, and Nandgopal, eight, give Sharon a scrub after a long day
Displaying the impressive skills he’s already mastered Anu, six, commands an adult orphaned elephant
“Every morning at 7am they wait at the place where the kids have a bath before going to school,” said Rajan.
The one-year-old calf looks on with concern as her mother, ten, was jumped up and down on by a team of vets yesterday
A team of vets immediately leapt on the mother elephant after pulling her out of the hole so she would regain consciousness
The mother elephant looked worse for wear as she was hoisted out the deep golf drain by park rangers and a team of vets
The baby elephant was able with help to make her own way out of the ditch, having fallen in the previous night
Incredible video shows the mammoth three-hour operation to pull the elephants out to safety – and then save the mother.
The baby elephant calf embraced its unconscious mother in worry as the group of men and women jumped up and down
The entire rescue effort took a total of three hours, with the mother elephant knocked unconscious after hitting her head
Lead national park vet Dr Chananya Kanchanasarak watches as a cherry picker pulls out the pair of elephants from the drain
Dr Kanchanasarak leads her team as they roll over the elephant so she can receive their urgent medical attention
The baby calf was stranded in the golf drain overnight before her mother fell into the 7ft crevice, knocking herself out cold
The crane is pictured putting her down after lifting her out of the ditch, with the baby soon to follow. CPR was then needed
The cherry picker crane was needed to pull the elephants out of the hole as the pair were unable to get out themselves
The baby calf appeared to be terrified as her unconscious mother was lifted out before receiving CPR from the doctors
A team set up a temporary barrier to prevent the protective and potentially violent herd from approaching.
The baby elephant couldn’t make her own way out of the 7ft drain as heavy monsoon rains lashed the national park
While the mother was passed out in the hole, the baby elephant – who was trapped the night before – suckled milk, which gave vets some relief.
A crane was used to pull the creatures out of the muddy drain before the vets continued with their work.
The crane was needed to lift the immense mother elephant out of the deep ditch in the Thai national park yesterday
Dr Chananya said the experience touched her team’s hearts and that it was one of the most memorable rescues they’d done
The two elephants became stuck in the drain amid intense monsoon rains lashing central Thailand yesterday afternoon
A crane was mobilised to lift the mother out of the hole after she fell in, possibly to retrieve her daughter, who slipped in too
The mother elephant fell head first into the golf ditch, with its legs scampering in the wet mud as it tried and failed to get out
Rescuers and park rangers looked on as the elephants were allowed to walk back into the forest together after the efforts