I’ll never forget this! Mother elephant cuddles her calf with her trunk as they are reunited days after the young animal was separated from the herd and got lost

This is the emotional moment a mother elephant cuddled her calf with her trunk as they were reunited days after the baby was separated from the herd and got lost.

Aerial shots showed the young animal, aged between four and five months old, safely asleep and tightly pressed against its mother after a touching return.

Park officials had reunited the calf with its herd after it disappeared on December 29, spending a day lost and alone in the Anamalaj Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu, India.

Wardens found the baby wandering around, distressed and looking for its mother.

Elephant herds rarely move on when a calf goes missing, experts explained, but may press on for safety if they sense imminent danger.

The baby was fortunate staff were able to locate its family with drones, as they had since walked some 2.5 miles away.

The calf was then washed down to remove any human smells and driven back to the herd for a moving reunion, mother and child pictured together three days later. 

A calf and its mother lie together three days after the baby was separated from the group

Wardens found the elephant wandering alone and sent out drones to locate the herd

The missing calf had strayed some 2.5 miles from its family and was in clear distress

The elephant (pictured behind its mother) was driven back to the herd and reunited

Days later it was pictured closely attached to its mother at the wildlife park in southern India