Driving through the grounds of Amboseli National Park in Kenya last month, park raiders began hearing a loud, trumpet-like cry echoing in the area: a sure sign that someone was are in trouble.

As they followed the cries, they quickly encountered a power source. A baby elephant is stuck inside a waterhole – and his mother can’t help him get out.

With time running out until nightfall, ranger teams began trying to remove her calf while waiting for rescuers from David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT) to arrive.

“They tried to pull the calf out by hand and its worried mother emerged from a nearby reptile and charged at the group,” DSWT said. “She chased them away before returning to keep watch.”

Luckily, by the time DSWT rescuers arrived on the scene, the mother was out of sight – which would have given them a short window of time to safely rescue the baby.

Rescue teams jumped into action to lift him out of the water. A total of five people were called in to save the baby – while two others continued to watch in case the worried mother tried to chase them away again.

No one knows how long the calf was stuck there, but he wasn’t exactly exhausted after the whole ordeal. He got up immediately and rescuers took him to the rescue vehicle to try to locate his mother.

“Fortunately, she was discovered less than a kilometer away with her tree trunk protruding above the bushes, trying to pick up her upper calves,” DSWT said. “She began moving at a [rapid] pace towards the vehicle, at which point the team stopped at a safe distance and unloaded their precious cargo, they dropped another trumpet.”

The feisty mother was overjoyed to finally see her baby safe – and was even ready to say goodbye to rescuers. With a final attack toward her rescuers, the mother turned back next to her calf and then to the left.

Since many calf DSWT stories also feature orphaned bees to poach, this explanation is certainly a cause for celebration.

“Stories like these are the best,” the rescuers said. “One always feels extremely happy when things happen as they should on this day, fortunately the mother responded boldly just when she thought all hope was lost.”