An orphaned baby elephant has been adopted by an unusual mum… a sheep.
Amanzi the elephant is being cared for at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre in South Africa after a rough start to life.
But he has now found a new friend in ‘Mother-sheep’, Lammie and is inseparable from her.
The centre released a heartwarming video of the pair playing together.
The adorable footage shows Amanzi resting his truck on Lammie’s back before the two intertwine their heads.
They enjoy walking along side each other, making sure they are always in close contact, unwilling to be separated.
The love Lammie is showing him is far from the way the elephant has been treated before.
In February Amanzi got trapped in a drain near a dam belonging to the Phalaborwa Copper mine in Limpopo in north-eastern South Africa and had to be saved by mine workers.
Although the men waited for the herd to return eventually they were forced to take the calf to the animal rescue centre because it was suffering from dehydration and exhaustion.
It was taken by truck and after already being rejected by elephants, non-profit organisation Elephants Alive stepped in to help the calf and took it into care.
But sadly attempts to reintegrate him with a herd failed and Amanzi was bullied by others leaving him underweight and dehydrated.
The elephant was taken to Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre to help him heal.
Dehydration is still an ongoing concern however.
Yesterday the centre posted on Facebook: ‘Amanzi has sadly lost his appetite for milk formula. He is being rehydrated again under the supervision of Dr. Peter Rodgers.’
They added: ‘We are in constant consultation with elephant orphanages in Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe and people who have reared older claves in Botswana as well.
‘To our disappointment the feedback has been the same…this is how it goes…some days of strength and courage followed by these dips until they are older and more stabilized.
‘From a veterinary perspective, he can only be treated symptomatically. One day at a time. Please hold him in your thoughts’
Amanzi certainly has the support of the public and the footage of Lammie and Amanzi has provoked an outpouring of love from people on social media.
Amazingly though this is not the first time the caring sheep has befriended another animal.
In 2014 the centre released a video of Lammie playing with an orphaned rhino called Gertjie, nicknamed Little G.
The adorable footage was captured by assistant curator Karien Smit who wanted to show the friendship that has developed between the inseparable pair.
During the video baby rhino Little G watches his friend Lammie the goat running up and down a winding dusty road in a typical haphazard way and he tries to copy him with memorable results.
The two friends run around each other and also bump into each other in a spontaneous and carefree manner.
