"My heart sank. I could see how helpless the mother looked, and I could only imagine how frightened and exhausted her baby must have been"

We were mid-flight, over the expansive Tsavo Conservation Area, to treat two elephants with arrow wounds when the radio crackled to life. Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) were reporting an urgent situation: an infant elephant was trapped in a well, his frantic mother standing guard, too panicked to let anyone near.

• The elephant’s massive tusk pierced a hole in my hat and lifted it clean off my head… along with the Land Rover’s roof

We diverted immediately – the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust operates a fleet of aircraft in the area, specifically to monitor wildlife and respond to emergencies like this – but the forty-minute detour over the parched, inhospitable landscape below still felt like an eternity.

• "His small trunk and ears were free, but his rear-end was stuck fast in dark, oozing mud. He looked exhausted and must have been struggling for hours"

When you know a mother and calf are in such a stressful situation, the anticipation builds with every passing minute – I was eager, anxious, desperate to help them. Desperate because we know time isn’t on our side: eventually, an elephant mother will be forced to move on from her young calf, especially if people and cattle turn up, frightening her away. They’d remained together this long – they just needed to hold on a few minutes more for us to get to them.

• "They began to circle the building, aggressively tapping their trunks along the walls. I heard rips and the sound of planks dropping coming from my room"

Seeing them from overhead for the first time, my heart sank. I could see how helpless the mother looked, and I could only imagine how frightened and exhausted her baby must have been. It’s never easy witnessing a baby in such distress, but that anxiety also fuels you – you become even more determined to get down there and help.

Our pilot, Hamish, set us down near a waterhole, then lifted off again to use the helicopter to shepherd the mother away, keeping her at a safe distance to enable us to approach the well. In those moments, fuelled by adrenaline, all the sounds around you dissipate. I became narrowly focused on the task at hand: the little elephant in front of me, but with one ear tuned to the crackle of the radio, waiting to hear if the mother was coming back.

As soon as I hopped out of the helicopter, I felt a wave of relief – this well wasn’t one of the deeper ones. The area, Kuranze Ranch, is private community land, potholed with wells, each individually owned. Some in the area can be forty feet deep – last year, it took an overnight operation for Sheldrick Trust teams to free an elephant from a 45-foot well. This one was mercifully shallower.

When I jumped into the water, which felt strangely refreshing in the 36ºC degree heat, the smell hit immediately: Tsavo's soil is rich in iron ore, and when mixed with water, it's unmistakable – a distinctly muddy, iron-y smell.

As the baby splashed desperately in the rust-coloured water, in the distance, the slight hum of the helicopter gave a reassuring indication of how far away the mother was. The calf was trumpeting, startled and struggling, as I pushed. He was incredibly heavy – I’d estimate 120kg.

Getting him out would be no small feat. Fortunately, it went like clockwork. With a few determined heaves, I managed to push him up and out. Once he got some momentum, there was a huge sigh of relief. I could hear the team clapping in the background as he bolted towards his mother.

Seeing him run towards his mother was success in itself. But it was flying overhead afterwards, watching the calf reunite with his mother, that delivered the real reward – that’s what we strive for. It's the most incredible feeling: a huge mix of relief, happiness; a flood of emotions washing over you. That reunion is our number one goal and witnessing it leaves you feeling utterly accomplished.

But my day wasn’t over. As we lifted off, euphoria still buzzing through us, Hamish returned to our original mission. By the end of the afternoon, two arrow-wounded bull elephants had been successfully darted and treated by the SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Vet Unit. Three lives saved – not a bad day's work.

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Roan Carr-Hartley is a pilot with the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a Kenyan conservation charity best known for rescuing and reintegrating orphaned elephants and mounting a rapid response to wildlife emergencies. Conservation projects also include anti-poaching, aerial monitoring and saving habitats.