And when a young elephant stumbled while crossing a busy road in South Africa, it was no surprise that its herd invaded the road to stop the traffic and came to rescue the stricken calf.

The amazing moment was captured on film after the baby elephant appeared to collapse in the middle of a road in the Kruger National Park forcing the traffic to stop.

Incredible moment elephant herd invade road to help fallen calf

The young elephant collapsed while crossing the road in the middle of the busy Kruger National Park in South Africa

The calf tried to get back on to its feet by itself but struggled and was left lying in the middle of the road

Eventually several adult elephants appeared and tried to rescue the stricken youngster, who was holding up traffic

The young animal then tried their best to get back on their feet but struggled and ended up lying flat on the pavement.

But rather than leaving the baby abandoned on the road, several larger elephants then appeared and tried to coax the youngster up by pushing them with their trunks and feet.

And thanks to their persistent efforts to encourage the baby, the animal eventually made it on to their feet and wandered off into the safety of the forest.

The video was posted to Youtube on the Kruger Sightings Channel yesterday, and has already received almost 90,000 views.

One commenter wrote: ‘Absolutely fantastic how the herd protects and help this calf up to join them again. Luckily the cars kept their distance.’

The older elephants in the herd surrounded the youngster, and tried to coax him to his feet using their trunks

After several minutes of encouragement, the calf then manages to sit up and clambers up on to its feet

Eventually the herd walk off, leaving the road clear for the waiting traffic to pass through the national park

While another said: ‘OMG that was so cute!!!! I wanted to help the poor little thing myself. Elephants are majestic animals, just fabulous in every way!’

It remains unclear what made the young elephant collapse, but some have suggested it may have simply been tired or stumbled over its own feet.

But one of the viewers commenting on the clip said: ‘Reminds me of the time my toddler that decided to have a rest on the supermarket floor.’