For the sake of a vulnerable animal, some individuals are willing to go above and beyond, and this forest guard is no exception. This hero, who came upon a newborn elephant in dire need of assistance, picked it up and carried it to safety on his shoulders without giving it a second thought. The incident was photographed, and the viral pictures have just lately reappeared online!

Palanichamy Sarathkumar, a 28-year-old ranger from Tamil Nadu, India, was heading back home after a night-shift when he got a call about a distressed elephant blocking a road. He and some of his colleagues rushed to the scene and they managed to head the elephant back into the woods.

But only after a few minutes Sarathkumar realized the reason the elephant was in distressed.

That’s when he discovered a newborn elephant that had been stuck in a ditch. Because the little creature was just too feeble to move, the devoted ranger accomplished the impossibility. Even though the animal weighed more than he did, he simply put it onto his shoulders.

“We spotted it [baby elephant] stuck inside a small ditch,” Sarathkumar told BBC NEWS. “It was exhausted and confused, so I thought to carry it. It was very heavy, but I just lifted it on the spur of the moment.”

Despite he weighs around 186ls, Sarathkumar somehow managed to lift the 220lbs baby elephant on his back, and carry it to safety. The crying calf was eventually reunited with its mother.

“Initially four of us carried,” the ranger said. “Our plan was to take it to the other side of the road to reunite it with its mother. But there was a danger of being attacked as she was still nearby. So I decided to carry the calf by myself across the road.”