To save its life, a ranger carried a 200-pound baby elephant through the woods on his shoulders

For the sake of a defenseless animal, some people are willing to do more, and this forest guardian is no exception. This hero, coming across a newborn baby elephant in dire need of help, did not hesitate to pick it up and carry it on his shoulders to safety. The incident was captured in a photo, and the viral images have just recently reappeared online!

Palanichami Sarathkumar, a 28-year-old gamekeeper from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, was returning home after his night shift when he received a call that an elephant had blocked the road. He and several of his colleagues rushed to the scene and managed to get the elephant back into the forest.
But it was not until a few minutes later that Sarathkumar realized the cause of the elephant’s distress.

Then he discovered a newborn baby elephant that was stuck in a ditch. Since the little creature was too weak to move, the devoted ranger did the impossible. Even though the animal weighed more than himself, he simply carried it on his shoulders.
«We spotted him [the baby elephant] stuck in a small ditch,» Saratkumar told BBC NEWS. «He was exhausted and confused, so I decided to pick him up. He was very heavy, but I just picked him up.»

Despite weighing about 186 pounds, Saratkumar somehow managed to lift the 220-pound baby elephant on his back and carry him to safety. The crying cub was eventually reunited with its mother.
«Originally there were four of us,» the ranger said. «Our plan was to carry him to the other side of the road to reunite him with his mother. But there was a danger of attack because she was still in the vicinity. So I decided to carry the calf across the road alone.»

Flashback pic. Rescue of an elephant calf by a forest guard from TamilNadu made news. Mr. Palanichamy carried the half on his shoulders which had fallen into a ditch. The calf was later united with its mother. pic.twitter.com/VKqbD3hrc0

— Dipika (Goyal) Bajpai (@dipika_bajpai) April 13, 2020