Elephants are the biggest land animals that walk the surface of our planet. Their size means they have the potential to be incredibly dangerous and anyone that messes with one of them messes with the whole herd.
This footage, taken by Pieter van Wyk, shows how seriously elephants take any threats, to the herd, and how they will protect each other to make sure that none of them are harmed.
A Majestic Herd
Because of their large size and their habit of moving slowly, elephants always appear to be gentle giants. Each herd is led by the matriarch elephant, the oldest female, who guides and directs the others with her experience.
It looked like there were two calves in this herd, one of them hiding behind an adult while the other explored more freely. It’s likely that this adult was the mother, but elephant herd will raise their young cooperatively with aunts taking part as well.
Because of this, elephant have strong family bonds within the herd, and they will fight fiercely to protect their young when they’re threatened by forming a wall around them to keep them safe.
A Curious Calf
The adults almost didn’t have time for this defensive behavior on this occasion, as the little calf was so excited about the prospect of exploring that it had hurried beyond the immediate reach of the adults.
The herd had already encountered a lone buffalo grazing on the bottom of a bush, but as the calf hurried along it rounded a tree and moved towards the buffalo, potentially startling it.
While the buffalo was too small to really fight an adult elephant, the calf was closer to its size, and even a little bit smaller so the angry buffalo felt comfortable picking a fight with it. The calf didn’t even seem sure how to react as the buffalo thundered towards it suddenly.
Crossing The Line
The little elephant calf wasn’t being threatening or aggressive. It seemed as though it was just investigating the area and strayed a little close to the buffalo which instantly took offence and charged.
Exactly where the calf had crossed the line is unclear, but the buffalo’s anger at one small elephant in the face of the entire herd was a moment where it clearly didn’t stop and think about the potential consequences of its actions.
As for the calf, it made an impulsive decision to stand and take the charge head on, perhaps forgetting that it was still only a calf and not a full grown adult with the strength to fight back.
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Stand Off
The rest of the herd immediately came forward to keep the calf safe from any further charging attempts by the buffalo. The adults formed a circle around the younger members of the herd with their tusks facing outwards.
The buffalo faced them down for only a short moment before wisely thinking better of it and hurrying away into the bush. One calf was an easy target, a herd of adult elephants was far too much trouble.
Immediately after the buffalo fled, the elephants came together in a joyful moment as the tension evaporated, and they knew that their calves were safe. It was a touching moment that showed why it’s worth sticking with sightings to the very end.
