An Indian photographer was left awe-struck after she snapped a mother monkey appear to cry out as her son collapsed in her arms.

However, luckily the baby had just tripped over and was soon up and running again.

The heart-warming shot was taken by 31-year-old Avinash Lodhi in Jabalphur, India.

She told the Telegraph on Wednesday that the picture meant a lot to her, reports AFP.

‘This picture is very close to my heart because throughout my entire photography career I have never seen anything like this.

‘It was so quick I didn’t even know what was happening when I took the picture but as soon as I confirmed the image I was silent for an hour.

‘This moment is rare, especially with animals.’

It is not uncommon to see monkeys roaming the streets in various Indian cities, much to the chagrin of some officials.

In 2014, India hired a group of monkey impersonators to scare the real marauding animals away from parliament and other key buildings in the nation’s capital, officials told AFP at the time.

Groups of monkeys, which are revered by some, roam freely around Delhi’s streets where they trash gardens, offices and even attack people in their search for food.