The bond between parent and child is one of the strongest connections in nature, and it’s what makes parents instinctively put their children first. We will do almost anything to protect our babies, and elephant-parents are no exception.

In this video, a mother elephant desperately tries to pull her baby from a mud-filled well. She refuses to leave the calf’s side, digging into the mud to try and free her baby. She becomes so distraught, though, that she accidentally pushes more mud into the embankment, trapping the calf. Just like another mama elephant who saved her drowning calf, this determined mom never gave up hope.

According to the Youtube description, the frantic mother elephant made matters worse by accidentally pushing more mud into the well and nearly smothering the baby, which was trapped from 9p.m. until 8a.m. the following morning. Bystanders couldn’t risk interfering because they were worried the mama elephant would becoming defensive and potentially trample them.

Finally, the youngster was freed when people living near the Chatra district in India, where the incident happened, rushed to the scene after hearing distressed cries. Although animal rescuers were on site to help and remove some of the mud, ultimately it was Mom who saved the day! According to reports, the mother was able to tightly wrap her trunk around the baby’s body and lift her safely out of the hole.

It’s an amazing thing to see when that parental instinct comes shining through in a dire situation. The duo were later seen walking side-by-side as they continued their journey.