Earlier this month, Sierra Wildlife Rescue (SWR) answered a distressing call from a homeowner in Sacramento, California. The caller reported seeing a white stripe appear within an unused black sports net on their property, and they soon realized that someone desperately needed help.

“The caller stated [a] skunk had been trying to free himself all morning and was just getting wound up tighter in the netting,” SWR wrote on Facebook.

SWR rushed to the scene and soon found a poor little skunk heavily entangled in the sports net. As the summer heat intensified and the skunk became more stressed, the team knew they needed to act quickly.

“With the temperature rising, and the skunk growing more frantic and exhausted, SWR volunteers were able to cover him with a wet towel and start cutting the netting,” SWR wrote.

Covering the skunk with a wet towel cooled him down and helped calm the scared baby. But he still managed to spray his rescuers with a defensive scent.

“[E]veryone involved got a dose of that skunk aroma!” SWR wrote.

Despite the smell, the SWR rescuers persisted in their mission of freeing the skunk from the net. They carefully cut away each layer until, eventually, the skunk was completely disentangled.

The crew removed the towel from atop the skunk and stepped away as he regained his balance. They weren’t sure if he’d been hurt while rolling in the net, so they watched from a safe distance to see if he showed any signs of injury.

Moments later, he sauntered away just as they’d hoped he would.

“Luckily, he was unharmed and had enough energy to scamper off,” SWR wrote.

You can watch the skunk return to the wild here:

The skunk ran to a nearby fence and soon burrowed beneath the barrier. As soon as he emerged on the other side, the resilient boy returned to his natural habitat.

The folks at SWR haven’t encountered the skunk since his rescue, which is a sign that he’s now happy and settled back in his home. The sports net has since been stored away, and, hopefully, the little guy won’t ever find himself in the same predicament again.