This is the moment a hippo rescued her desperate calf from a fight by giving him a piggy back to safety across the water.

Heart-warming pictures show the calf embroiled in a battle with the other males before his mother came to save him.

She swam away from the fight with the youngster on her back before dropping him off safely away from danger.

Photographer Stacey Farrell, 30, took the pictures while cruising on a safari boat on the Saint Lucia Estuary in South Africa in August.

She said: ‘It was an amazing moment to witness. This hippo was born out of season so he was by far the youngest and smallest baby.’

The South African added: ‘The other hippos would play and become too rough with him and he was even attacked by the dominant male.

‘This calf was attacked but his mum came to rescue him and he hitched a ride on her back.’

Brawl: The baby hippo is attacked by another male while its mother tries to attack the male on the Saint Lucia Estuary in South Africa

Highlighted: An up-close detail of the fight which took place between the hippos, in a photograph by 30-year-old Stacey Farrell

Helping hand: The mother hippo comes to fight the hippo and to save her baby, in what was described as an ‘amazing moment to witness’

Protection: Heart-warming pictures show the calf embroiled in a battle with the other males before his mother came to save him.

Scars of battle: The hippo displays its cuts on his back whilst he swims to his mother for safety on the St Lucia Estuary

Getting to safety: The hippo was born out of season – and the photographer said he was ‘by far the youngest and smallest baby’

Swimming: Hippo bulls are very territorial and regard even their own sons as a threat, while play-fighting amongst youngsters is common

Carried: The mother swam away from the fight with the youngster on her back before dropping him off safely away from danger

Stunning scene: The photographer has been taking pictures for four years and works as a safari guide, hoping for rare moments on film