A camera captured an elephant protecting its young by kicking a calf out of the way when it approached too ᴄʟᴏsᴇly. The moment was recorded by a visitor to the San Diego Wildlife Safari Park in California.

Two elephant calves can be seen hurrying across the enclosure side by side. But suddenly, an elephant that is fully grown turns to confront them on the right side of the screen. It rages toward the two infants, who quickly disperse.

The unwary calf is then prodded out of the way by the adult elephant’s trunk, causing it to skid across the ground. The fully-grown mammal lifts its front left leg and smacks the calf in the back once again before using a scooping motion to vigorously kick it down a slope.

The kid falls and smashes to the floor with its legs and trunk flapping as it gives out a distress call. The calf swiftly manages to get back to its feet and begins to nonchalantly move away.

A second adult, who is chewing on a bamboo stick and is presumed to be the calf’s mother, bustles over to examine and raises its trunk to the calf as if to check that it is uninjured.