Last week in Kenya, a 1-year-old baby elephant meandered through Tsavo East National Park with her mother. The sweet pair appeared healthy from a distance, but someone touring the park noticed something strange about the baby’s trunk. The middle looked cinched.

Sure enough, a poacher’s wire snare was wrapped tightly around the poor calf’s trunk.

An elephant calf this young relies on her mother for everything — and elephant mothers do everything to protect their babies. Sadly, even this calf’s mom wouldn’t have been able to remove the snare without hurting herself or her baby. Wire snares are designed to tighten the more an animal moves.

The person who noticed the elephant in trouble contacted Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT), a conservation organization, that leapt into action.

SWT and its partner organization, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), sent one of their veterinary units out to find the baby in need, and to prevent things from getting even worse for her.

“As she grew — and thus, her trunk grew in diameter — the snare would have continued to slice into it,” Sean Michael, director of communications at SWT, told The Dodo.

The baby calf would eventually lose part of her trunk, Michael said, adding, “This already puts an elephant at a severe disadvantage.” Wounds from these types of injuries get infected easily, and can even become fatal.

Injuries also make it hard to keep up with the herd, especially for young elephants.

The veterinary team spotted the injured calf and her mother among their herd in the park later that day, much to everyone’s relief. They guided the pair away from the group, then faced an even bigger challenge: reaching the baby without upsetting her mom.

“Elephant mums are very protective,” Michael said. “It would be stressful and … dangerous to attempt to separate the pair for treatment.”

In the name of saving the baby elephant’s life, both baby and mama were sedated. The team got to work removing the snare.

The elephant calf lay on the ground peacefully as the vet cleaned her wound. Though the trunk had a deeper cut than the team expected, the wire hadn’t been wrapped around it long enough to do serious damage. Over time, Michael said, the baby will make a full recovery.

When the team revived the calf and her mother, the baby seemed slightly disoriented. “But [she] calmed immediately when she joined her mother,” Michael said.

The pair walked off together to join their herd in the park, the calf following closely behind her mom.

SWT posted the good news on X: “A little life saved. An elephant family kept whole.”