A newborn baby elephant had to rely on a wildlife official’s shoulder after being rescued from a canal.
The footage shows the touching moment when the elephant is carried to safety by the forestry staff.
Watch the video at the end.
The baby elephant was part of the herd and was walking through the forest of Nellimala in Ooty, southern India, when it fell down a canal and got stuck in the mud.
Hitchhiker: A wildlife official picks up a calf that has been rescued from a muddy canal and tried to run away into the road
Video grab of the moment a baby elephant is rescued after it had fallen into a slushy canal in the Ooty district of Tamil Nadu, India
Her mother could not make it in time, so she broke into a car and chased her companion in a critical situation.
Her mother could not help her and has been damaging vehicles and chasing away people in a state of distress.
Villagers called forestry officials for help, and they kept the mother in the bay while keeping the calf from getting trapped.
The baby elephant was separated from its mother, leaving it disorientated and hungry.
Stuck: The elephant calf was part of a herd and was passing through the forests in Nellimala in Ooty in southern India when it fell into a canal and got stuck in the mud.
Scared: Having been rescued, the baby elephant tried to run away and was naturally scared and distressed.
Calmer: The wildlife officials gave the elephant coconut water and helped it back to its mother.
However, a newborn calf, estimated to be no more than a few days old, can be interpreted as quietly reluctant to end.
Men wearing camouflaged t-shirts and trousers can be seen comforting the dehydrated and scared calf as it keeps running away from them.
A volunteer lifted the animal onto his shoulder and carried it into the woods to prevent the animal from running into the street.
The rescue team gave him glucose and coconut water before bringing him back to the forest to reunite with his mother.
The calf appears to be a few days old because it trembles when it walks. The baby elephant had got stuck in mud in a dried-up forest canal.
Watch the heartwarming moment in the video below:
