Heart-warming photographs depict a visibly pregnant dog who seems to have adopted an orphaned baby monkey after its mother was poisoned.

The infant monkey can be seen embracing and playing about the dog, while the mother-to-be seems to be loving having him around.

Photographer Prakash Badal 48, shot the photographs while visiting Chakki Mor, Solan in Himachal Pradesh, northern India, initially hoping to photograph birds.

He stated: ‘The monkey infant looked to be approximately 10 days old when residents poisoned the adult monkeys since it is alleged they are ruining their crops.

‘This infant survived and the dog adopted it.

‘While occasionally there are disagreements between monkeys and dogs, the relationship of a mother is more vital.

‘I believed that when a mother observed a baby who is extremely small and left alone and there is nobody to take care of him, the maternal instinct took the initiative to adopt a small baby even if it’s from different species.

‘This form of relationship is a lesson for humans who have gotten greedy and murder each other only because he is from different cast or religion. ‘