Baby elephant with ‘mud lipstick’ smiles and waves at cameraman

An adorable baby elephant with ‘mud lipstick’ has been spotted waving its trunk around and smiling at a lucky photographer.

Captured by Clint Ralph from 20 meters away, the young calf hid deep in the herd before emerging for its modeling debut.

African elephants drink up to 7.5 litres of water in one go, however, despite trying, this little one has a long way to go o keep up with its parents.

Attempting to keep up, the calf covers itself in water, still proud of its efforts and with a ring of mud around its mouth.

“I love the cuteness of the little one amongst all the giants,” the 61-year-old, from Pretoria, South Africa, told http://NeedToKnow.co.uk .

“They were all drinking and I was looking for something special when I noticed the tiny calf in amongst the adults.

“I was hoping it would give me a photo opportunity which, thankfully, it did.”

Born weighing around 200 pounds, the baby elephant will grow to be up to 15,000 pounds and stand up to 13 feet tall.

Taken at the Antares Bush Lodge in Limpopo, South Africa, Clint used a Canon R5 camera to shoot the elephant’s smile.