A desperate elephant herd rescued a calf from drowning in a dam by guiding and pulling it from the water.<br /><br />Vanessa Holden was visiting Addo Elephant Park, South Africa, when a young animal fell into difficulty.<br /><br />Dramatic footage captured the moment the frantic herd jumped into action, initially offering their trunks for the youngster to grab.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Vanessa said: “I have never experienced any like it before. It was special and mind blowing to see how the herd reacted.<br /><br />“They were panicked and stressed but wasted no time in calling others for help and trying to help this baby out.<br /><br />“They knew how dangerous this situation was and that they needed to work fast together as a herd to get him out.<br /><br />“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.<br /><br />“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.<br /><br />“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.”
