EmotionsofAfrica

The video shows how an elephant herd gets really angry with a pack of African wild dogs, chasing them off with their intimidating loud screams and trumpeting sounds in order to protect their young. Because elephants are the largest mammals roaming the African bush, they take absolutely no nonsense from any other animal, especially predators. Elephants move in breeding herds, led by a matriarch together with related females and their young which are male and female. Older males live in smaller groups together or alone. The main job of a breeding herd is to protect the young in the herd, no matter what. They do this aggressively when there are any potential threats to their babies. The video shows just that. When a breeding herd of elephants came across a pack of African wild dogs, the elephants immediately reacted. African wild dogs are one of Africa’s rarest predators and can be voracious hunters, going for anything that moves that might be the right size for them to take down. A baby elephant is not off the menu for the wild dogs and the adult elephants know that. When this breeding herd spotted the wild dogs, they knew there was potential danger. With their huge size and intimidating behavior, the adult elephants in the herd made sure that the wild dogs knew that they were not welcome in their area. With incredibly loud screams and trumpeting noises, coupled with ears flapping, the whole herd charged towards the wild dogs. Wild dogs are very agile and fast, so every time the elephants would charge towards them, the wild dogs would just quickly run off a little before they settled again. That wasn’t enough for the elephants, and they continued chasing after the wild dogs until they eventually ran off into the bush and out of sight of the elephants. Watching this whole noisy and intimidating altercation as part of a safari group was a very overwhelming experience for everyone, a rare sight and one not to be forgotten.

The video shows a baby hyena, out in the African wild with its family, slowly sneaking up to my safari vehicle, then getting a huge fright when touching metal on the vehicle for the first time in its life. I was out scouting a remote wilderness area of the Kruger National Park, when I came across a hyena den with a whole clan of hyenas. The hyena family was surprisingly calm when I arrived and was amazed how close I could get to them without them being bothered with my presence. Most of the hyenas were basking in the early morning winter sun and pretty chilled. There were a number of baby hyenas all around the den, ranging in different sizes and ages. The baby hyenas looked busy while the adults just wanted to rest. One little hyena seemed very curious about my presence and slowly sneaked off, hesitantly walking towards my safari vehicle. I couldn’t believe when the baby hyena came right up to my vehicle. Right next to my door, the baby hyena suddenly attempted to jump up the door of the vehicle. Why? That I don’t know. As the baby hyena touched the metal, it got a huge fright, span around, and ran away back to safety. I was totally blown away by the boldness of the baby hyena as this specific clan doesn’t see many humans or vehicles in their life. It was as if when the baby hyena felt metal for the first time, it just might have given him a huge surprise and fright at the same time.

The video shows the playful moments between a leopard mother and her adorable cub that was filmed in the African wild. Leopards are part of the legendary African big five animal group and by far one of the most difficult animals to see in the African wild. These solitary predators are elusive and stealthy hunters, and to see one during a safari is a huge highlight if you should be so lucky. Finding two leopards in the wild is just priceless. The mother leopard and her cub in this video was found during a safari in the Kruger National Park and made for adorable moments and entertaining viewing. The mother leopard was spending quality time with her cub. At first the mother leopard and cub were bonding up close, with the occasional hug from the mother. Thereafter it became more action packed, with the mother and her cub slowly stalking one another before chasing after each other, running all over the place. While bonding between the leopards is an important part of these play sessions, the most important purpose is for the mother to teach her cub the crucial skills a leopard will need to survive in the wild. Skills such as stalking and attacking its prey are all learned and practiced during this play session. Definitely a rare sight and an incredible safari moment to remember.

The video shows two tourists, fast asleep next to the pool at a safari lodge, little knowing that a herd of elephants silently pulled in for a drink. It was mid-morning when we returned back to camp after a long early morning safari out in the bush. It meant some downtime for everyone, and I decided it was a good idea to go and chill by the pool of the safari lodge. When I arrived at the pool, I was totally blown away by what I saw and couldn’t believe my own two eyes. I decided to get my camera and started rolling. On the loungers was two of our fellow safari goers, already fast asleep next to the pool. Right in front of them were a small herd of large elephant bulls, busy drinking from the pool, not bothered by the presence of the sleeping tourists. They must have been very tired after the long morning safari and looked totally passed out and did not even flinch. There they were, fast asleep and not having the slightest clue that Africa’s largest land mammals pulled in for a drink right next to them. Due to the holiday makers being totally motionless, the elephants must have ignored them and casually carried on enjoying their drink from the pool. I am sure if the safari tourists were awake, it would have been a very difficult task to lie so still while these massive creatures were drinking water from the pool a mere few meters away from them.

The video shows an elephant crossing a river, then deciding it was a good day to go and pick on a heron bird standing in the river while minding its own business. Elephants are the largest mammals walking on our planet and they definitely know it. Outsizing all other animals and birds, elephants almost always want to make it clear that they are in charge and that they are untouchable. With this attitude, elephants are very intimidating and other animals will never dare to challenge a fully grown elephant. The elephant in this video was casually making its way through a shallow river when it suddenly noticed a bird called a grey heron, standing alone, minding its own business of catching fish. The elephant paused, looked at the heron and decided it was a good time to pick on the bird and show who’s the boss in the African wild. It was not like the bird posed any threat to the elephant, but the grumpy elephant decided it was time for a little intimidation. It was actually hilarious to watch the elephant going about picking on the heron bird. With raised ears, the elephant was swinging its trunk in the direction of the bird, while making its intimidating trumpeting sounds. The elephant even splashed water towards the bird a few times. It did not look like the bird was really scared and every time the elephant came closer, the bird would just fly off a little to stay out of reach. Once the elephant made its statement, it lost interest and continued through the river and the heron was left to carry on fishing in peace.