Earlier this month, a herd of wild elephants were making their way past a village in Assam, India, when the unthinkable happened. Amid their hurried trek to the safety of the forest, an 8-week-old elephant calf traveling with them had somehow gotten left behind.
After assessing the young calf’s health, rescuers then managed to pick up the trail his herd had made through the forest.
They loaded the baby elephant into a small truck to speed him ahead, closer to where his family must have been.
Arriving to a clearing in the forest, the calf was then coated with elephant manure to mask any scent left behind by his rescuers. Afterward, he was escorted out to where his mother could hopefully see him.