As we have seen too many times in these situations, a mother elephant will only wait around for so long before abandoning a hopeless situation. The window was closing to extract the baby and reunite the pair.

There wasn't much to do but dive right in — quite literally. We drove our vehicle as close as possible to the trough, providing us with both a speedy exit and a barrier between the protective and agitated mother. While we didn’t want to drive her too far away, we needed a safe space to work — and at about 200 pounds / 90 kilograms, the calf was hardly a light lift.

We honked and revved the engine to give ourselves time and distance, then raced into the trough. As soon as the mother clocked our movement, she came racing back with a vengeance. The vehicle was on the receiving end of several charges, while our team managed to dive out of reach.

It took multiple attempts, but we finally pulled the baby to safety. Once he was on solid ground, it was time to step back and wait. Mum swooped in, inspected her calf, and satisfied he was unharmed, ushered him back into the wilderness.

When tragedy strikes, we rescue orphaned elephants who have lost their mothers — but wherever possible, our primary mission is to keep wild families together. To see this realised today, despite all the challenges our team faced, was deeply rewarding.