An 8-month-old baby elephant was rescued from a large hole at a Kenyan national park last Thursday.

Vicki Fishlock from the Amboseli Trust for Elephants (ATE) bravely faced off with the mother elephant, so the rescuers could save her 8-month-old calf.

The baby elephant fell in a deep man-made well that was dug by Masai tribesmen in the area. Typically, baby elephants who fall in the well would die, as the rest of the herd leaves him behind. Luckily, ATE got the call in the nick of time.

“Rescues where family members are around are stressful, and I’m always happy when everyone is safely back in the cars,” Fishlock recalled. “And I have to admit that the reunions always bring a tear to my eye. The intensity of their affection for each other is one of the things that makes elephants so special.”

“After the video we cut the engines. [The mother elephant] didn’t charge us, she didn’t run away. Eventually after five minutes they just walked out. I think she did understand,” she also added. “I certainly felt like she had forgiven us for our very impolite behavior.”