This is the heartbreaking moment when a mother cow desperately tries to revive her dead calf after it had been knocked down by a car in the New Forest.
The mother was seen nuzzling at the head of her lifeless calf in a futile bid to rouse it in Godshill village, near Fordingbridge, Hampshire.
Another image shows a group of six cows gathered around the body on the roadside as if to protect it from other passing cars.
Heartbreaking: The mother cow tries to revive her dead calf after the accident in the New Forest, Godshill, near Fordingbridge, Hampshire
Campaigner Jane Matthew said: ‘When a mother cow loses her calf, for whatever reason, she bellows constantly for days – it’s a heart rending sound that penetrates right to the core.’
The collision took place close to a sign warning drivers about the presence of wild animals ‘day and night’ on the rural road in the Hampshire national park.
Local campaigners say that speeding drivers have caused the deaths of dozens of calves and foals in the New Forest over the last few years.
They are calling on motorists to reduce their speed and give the animals more space on the roads.
Cows crowd around the dead calf as if they are trying to protect it. Campaigner Jane Matthew said: ‘When a mother cow loses her calf, for whatever reason, she bellows constantly for days’
Sarah Weston, from the New Forest Roads Campaign group, who took the photos, said: ‘It is incredibly sad.
‘Being involved in this campaign for years unfortunately I’ve seen too many dead animals but you never become immune to it.
‘If everyone behaved themselves and a few animals were killed in genuine accidents then we’d have to accept that.
‘But the truth is that there are people speeding across the New Forest day in day out – and at night, people are driving too close to the animals and not keeping a good look out for them.
The cow death happened on a stretch of road near a road sign warning that animals are a danger
‘We are desperate to get the message across to drivers, wherever they come from and no matter how regularly they travel across the New Forest, to slow down to pass the New Forest animals and give them plenty of room.
‘Two foals and one calf have been killed by vehicles in recent weeks.
‘Animals can appear suddenly on the roads at night and during the day and the young stock have no road sense at all.
In 2017, 56 animals were killed on the New Forest roads – 39 ponies, nine cattle, five donkeys, two pigs and one sheep
‘Taking your foot off the pedal and slowing by a good 10 or 15 mph can make all the difference as you pass a group of animals and at night travel at 30 mph in third gear at the very most.’
The collision took place overnight on June 3 on the B3078 in the village of Godshill, near Fordingbridge. The road has a 40mph speed limit.
It was struck by a holidaymaker who stopped at the scene and was said to be ‘devastated’ afterwards.
The death of the calf comes just weeks after a foal was killed in a hit-and-run on a nearby road which sparked a police investigation.
Sarah Weston, from the New Forest Roads Campaign group said: ‘Two foals and one calf have been killed by vehicles in recent weeks’
In 2017, 56 animals were killed on the New Forest roads – 39 ponies, nine cattle, five donkeys, two pigs and one sheep.
Jonathan Gerrelli, the New Forest’s head agister – the group of officials who manage the commoners – said: ‘Foals and calves are at risk of being struck by vehicles on the open road particularly at this time of year as they are getting a bit older and more independent.
‘You see them running around and playing and there are times when the mother will be on one side of the road and the foal or calf the other.
‘With this in mind, drivers need to take particular care and drive with due consideration on our New Forest roads.’