Elephants are the biggest land animal to walk the surface of our planet. One day, these elephant calves will have to carry themselves with all the majestic grace and care that this size dictates.
Until then, they were smaller and nimbler than they would ever be again, and they had time for games which seemed to involve a lot of climbing around in the sand without a care in the world.
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Iian Ossendryver spotted these two playful calves in the Kruger National Park, while out on a game drive with Jock Safari Lodge, and stopped to watch them enjoying their carefree games.
A Day Out At The Beach
It had been a busy day of sightings for the group, as they had already spotted a lioness prowling in the bush near the riverbed. As they carried on with their drive they came across the elephants coming to the river for a much needed drink.
If the herd knew about the lion nearby they were unbothered by it, and with them they’d brought two calves to enjoy their time playing around in the sand along the edges of the river.
According to Iian, it looked for all the world like a family having a fun-filled holiday at the seaside. While the adults spent their day out relaxing, the children could play the day away, scrambling around in the sand.
Sibling? Or Climbing Frame?
When Iian started filming, one of the elephants was already lying in the sand while its sibling decided to enjoy the game of treating it like an immense grey climbing frame.
The calf which looked more active was climbing all over its sibling until the lying down calf finally seemed to lose its temper and begin kicking it off. Luckily, it didn’t seem to be a serious falling out, and the game continued only moments later.
Their positions swapped, with the active elephant lying down while the more relaxed one leapt to its feet and spread its ears out as far as they could go. One day, this elephant would use this technique to try and ward away potential threats, but now it was just part of a fun game.
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Carefree Days
Although it’s unknown exactly how close the lion was spotted to the elephant herd, it didn’t seem to have any intention of trying to attack them. Elephants are difficult prey for multiple lions, let alone one.
Although calves like these would be prime targets for a predatory attack, elephants are fiercely protective of their young, and with the herd nearby these two were completely safe.
Lions are reluctant to tangle with adult elephants, meaning that these two could lie back in the sand and enjoy their carefree games without having to worry about the risk of being attacked by predators.
For the group on the game drive it was a nice relief as well. They too could enjoy the playful calves rolling around in the sand without having to worry about their wellbeing, or the sudden appearance of any threats.
