Elephant herd works together to help out - PHOTO+VIDEO

They show a calf whose back leg has been caught in a cruel wire snare as it hobbles through the wild landscape of the Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa.But the youngster did not have to struggle alone, the entire herd slowed down to keep pace and worked together to make sure the wire trailing 13 feet behind it did not get caught in the brush.Game reserve worker Amy Attenborough photographed the scene as she and fellow guide Simon Smit tracked the herd so a vet could be helicoptered in to treat the calf.She described it as 'the most incredible and touching four hours of elephant viewing I have ever experienced.''The herd was absolutely relaxed around us and was quite happy to have us tag along on their morning adventures. A rather ironic situation when you consider that this elephant was suffering as a direct result of our kind,' she wrote on Londolozi's blog.'What was even more remarkable was how the herd cared for and nurtured its injured youngster. We watched as the wire would snag on trees and the elephant would become trapped, unable to move any further. No sooner would this have happened than another member would arrive, gently lift and release the wire, remove any attached debris and sometimes even carefully carry the wire on its trunk for a while.'Even the tiniest elephants in the group, knew that something was awry and would sprint next to the wire, desperately trying to pry loose branches that had become entangled in it as it dragged through the bush.'Female and juvenile elephants spend their lives in tightly knit matrilineal family groups of up to ten members or more led by a matriarch.Elephants are highly intelligent animals, self-aware and able to make and use simple tools, and their observably sensitive behaviour has led to persistent claims that they can, like humans, feel emotion.As with chimps and dolphins, any hurt, dying or dead elephant may get attention and aid from others of their own kind, regardless of whether they are related.Some scientists dismiss any interpretation that the animals are in this way expressing 'concern' for each other as naive anthropomorphism, but examples like this one at Londolozi nonetheless appear to be compelling evidence.Miss Attenborough and Mr Smit tracked the herd right to the northwestern boundary of the reserve but were unable to follow them any further.She spoke to Edwin Pierce, northern section ranger and ecologist for the Sabi Sands Wildtuin, a neighbouring reserve, for an account of the calf's treatment.'The veterinarian believes we caught the youngster just in time and that had we not intervened, the elephant would have lost its foot for sure,' Mr Pierce told her.'Luckily there had been no tendon damage to the leg yet and the vet believes this youngster will make a full recovery in the next few months.'Bakudaily.Az