An elephant knocked his head in a tree from pain - when the rescuers understood why, they couldn't believe their eyes

Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe is a world heritage site where you can see wildlife from a safe distance.

Hippos, alligators, elephants, lions and buffalo - all are in the park and enjoy the rivers, islands, sands and marshes of the area.

But one day the park inspectors discovered something rare. An elephant walked around the park and behaved very strangely. It was clear that something was wrong with him.

After examining the elephant and trying to see what the problem was, they noticed something strange in his forehead.

And that was the moment they discovered something horrifying and shocking: what was in the middle of the elephant's forehead was a bullet hole.

Hunters chased the elephant and eventually shot him as they were interested in its precious ivory.

But the elephant managed to escape into the reserve.

The reserve's inspectors contacted veterinarians Keith Doltow and Lisa Marabini, explaining that they had an injured elephant.

The veterinarians arrived. They prepared the elephant for the medical procedure they were about to perform. Within 30 minutes, the elephant was ready for examination and treatment.

He seemed to trust them, as if he understood they were there to help him overcome the pain.

The veterinarians came into action, firing an anesthetic arrow.

As the elephant fell asleep, they began examining the hole in his forehead that was created from the bullet.

"The veterinarians have never seen anything like this", they wrote on Aware Trust Zimbabwe's Facebook page.

They removed bone fragments, and then disinfected and cleaned the wound.

The elephant also received antibiotics.

In the X-rays, they saw that the elephant was very lucky.

If the bullet were to hit him a few inches down, the elephant would probably be dead.

When the elephant woke up after the surgery, he had severe headaches. He was seen pressing and banging his head against a tree - but shortly afterwards he fell asleep and managed to rest.

"Our hearts are almost broken", they wrote on Aware Trust Zimbabwe's Facebook page post.

Fortunately, the next day the elephant felt much better.

He seemed happy and calm, all thanks to the wonderful people who work at the reserve. Now, in the reserve, he can be safely away from the lowly hunters.