Ben, a bull elephant, approached the Bumi Hills Safari Lodge and the manager quickly noticed that it had a limp and appeared to be severely injured. In photographs, the elephant is looking inside and it appears that he is indeed seeking assistance.

Unfortunately there was no in-house veterinarian at the lodge because the vet had gone for the weekend.

But one kind vet offered to fly 200 miles from Harare to provide medical assistance to the elephant and arrived within six hours. In that time, Ben apparently waited patiently, supping on water and grazing, MailOnline reported.

The elephant, believed to be 30 years old, was then tranquillised and soon it was discovered that Ben had been shot because of a deep wound in his shoulder.