EmotionsofAfrica

The video shows a hippo returning home to its water, only to be screamed at and chased into the water by an elephant not happy with its presence. During the dry season in Africa, animals in the wild must endure a lot of hardship and challenges to survive. The biggest challenge during the dry periods is to find somewhere where there is still water while travelling big distances in search of food. The bigger animals like elephant and hippos can struggle even more than most other animals due to their size. These large herbivores must feed and drink daily to survive. Hippos live in water, so their shelters become under threat as well. During these high stress dry periods, elephants especially, become very aggressive and protective over the remaining resources of water and food. While all the wild animals must share the resources that are left, elephants in general do not like to share and become angry and agitated very quickly with other animals needing to get to the water. It was early morning during a safari in Zimbabwe, that we found ourselves viewing wild animals in a hide, overlooking one of the last remaining water sources in the reserve we visited. There were a lot of animals coming and going, with elephants being the majority. While watching a herd of elephants drinking at the watering hole, I noticed a hippo in the distance, slowly making its approach back to the water. Hippos will leave the water at nighttime to go and graze, returning to the water early morning where they will then spend their daylight hours resting and sleeping. The hippo looked tired, having to travel long distances during the night in search of grass to eat. This hippo just wanted to get back home, but the water was surrounded by elephants. I could see the elephants noticed the oncoming hippo, and when the hippo got closer, the one elephant thought it would let the hippo know it was not happy with the hippo’s return. The elephant suddenly looked angry and turned around. With a loud scream followed by loud trumpeting, the elephant cow made it clear that she was annoyed and angry, aggressively chasing the hippo back into the water. The hippo knew it had to get back in the water quickly and so it did. Once the hippo settled down in the water, the female elephant calmed down and there was peace again among all animals around the watering hole.

The video shows the incredible intelligence used by a female matriarch elephant to remove a fence so that she and her herd could get out. Elephants are not only the largest land mammals on earth, but they are also rated as one of the most intelligent mammals living on this planet. The leader of any elephant herd is called a matriarch which is always one of the wiser and more mature females in the herd. The elephant herd relies on the matriarch to lead them on the way to food and water in strategic places during different times of the year. These matriarchs follow old migratory routes shown to them by previous generations, then memorised over time, guiding them and their herds along these migratory journeys. Over time humans have created nature reserves to protect the elephants. Many of these large reserves have fences around them, protecting the animals from the onslaught of the outside world such as poaching. While the reserve fences do play a roll in protecting and keeping together special animals in large spaces of protected land, animals like elephants need to move big distances. Elephants don’t let much stand in their way if they are on the move, not even a reserve fence. Unfortunately, a lot of these fences run through some of these ancient elephant migratory routes. The video shows how meticulous and smart this matriarch elephant goes about taking down the fence, so she and her herd could carry on with their journey. At first the matriarch slowly attempted to step on the fence to push it down, but it kept bouncing back up. After a few seconds of thinking, the female elephant quickly realised that it was a lot easier just to lift the supporting poles of the fence out of the ground, then easily laying the fence down on the ground. With the fence on the ground, it’s incredible to see how carefully and precise each member of the herd then slowly climbed over the fence. Just like that a whole herd of elephants crossed through the man-made fence, slowly and without too much effort or noises.

The video shows two hungry hyenas attempting to hunt an injured baby giraffe before the mother comes to the rescue. While on safari in the Kruger National Park, we spotted a mother giraffe and her baby. Not too far away was two hyenas, just staring at the giraffes. At first, we couldn’t understand why the two hyenas were looking so interested in the giraffes the whole time. Every time the giraffes would move, the hyenas would follow. That was when we noticed that the back left leg of the baby giraffe was broken, and it was limping badly. The hyenas clearly noticed this weakness and thought it will be an easy target for them. Every time there was some distance between the mother and her baby, the hyenas would take a chance and run after the injured baby in attempt to catch it. This carried on for a while until the baby eventually ran towards the mother. The mother giraffe also realised what was going on and ran straight towards her baby. As the baby giraffe joined its mother, the hyenas immediately backed away. The baby giraffe went standing in a safe spot between the mother’s legs. The mother giraffe’s long legs and hooves are used for self-defence and can kick in all directions. The hyenas know very well that those long legs and big hooves can kill them with one kick against the head. The protective mother’s presence right next to her injured baby was enough to deter the two hyenas and they quietly moved on and disappeared, leaving the mother giraffe and her baby in peace.

The video shows the rarely seen and heartwarming moments between an adult female leopard and her daughter filmed in the African wild. Seeing a leopard in the African wild is always a great privilege. To see two leopards together is rare and priceless. It was during a safari in the Kruger National Park in South Africa that we were lucky to learn about a sighting of a mother leopard and her younger daughter. We decided to make our way to the sighting immediately as something like that is rarely seen. On our arrival, we could not see the leopards. The amazing camouflage created by the beautiful patterns on their skins made it hard for us to find and spot them initially. Eventually, we managed to spot the two leopards where they were lying upright together in the long grass. What followed was heartwarming to see. The two leopards had so much affection for one another. The mother and daughter were licking, grooming, and rubbing against each other. It was incredible to see how much tender, love, and care there was between the leopard mother and her daughter. The young leopard was estimated at about eighteen months and was almost the same size as the mother. Leopard cubs leave their mothers between the ages of eighteen and twenty months. Leopards live solitary as adults and are mostly seen alone. Seeing these two leopards together, interacting in such a manner, is not something you see often, making this a rare and remarkable sight in the African wild.

The life of a baby Elelphant is filled with struggle and challenges and they are real. Getting back on their feet is just one of those challenges they have to deal with. This video shows a female baby Elephant lying in the mud and then trying to stand up. What a mission it was indeed in the beginning. Several attempts was a failure. The manner in which this cute little one wanted to get back up was rather comical. This had everyone in laughter. At the same time though, one could not help but to feel sorry for the poor Elephant and her struggle. There were also no help from any of the other adult Elephants around. For Elephants just to go lie down flat on their sides is a rare occasion. One of the most obvious reasons is their size. How does three to five tons go lie down flat and then get back up again? That is a real problem and challenge. Baby Elephants on the other hand are not that huge in size yet, so they will still attempt to lie down every now and then. This specific little female enjoyed some time flat on her side in the mud. It was in the middle of the day and extremely hot. Elephants do not have sweat glands like we as humans do. They cannot sweat to cool themselves down. These giant creatures love to throw mud and water all over themselves to cool down. Rolling in the mud covers the whole body for a cooldown, and at the same time helps them to get rid of any skin irritations. This little one did exactly just that. After her cooling down session, it was time to get up. She tried to use momentum to get back up by swinging the left back leg up into the air several times. The momentum created was just too little every time and the poor Elephant would then fall back on her side again. Eventually, after some real effort, the momentum build was just enough to roll her over onto her knees. From there she could get herself back on her feet. All covered in mud and surely a little tired as well, she was up and ready to carry on with her journey with the rest of the herd. This short struggle is only one of the many challenges lying ahead for our adorable little one. Her life as a baby Elephant will teach her all the lessons and skills necessary to hopefully one day, lead her own herd through the plains of Africa

The video shows how two elephants casually enter a restaurant at a safari lodge in Africa, then walking through the restaurant without touching anything. When going on a safari holiday, you get to live with and spend time with the wild animals of Africa. While game viewing happens from a safari vehicle, there are the occasional times when you might meet the wild creatures at the most unexpected times and places like shown in this video. After the lodge guests returned from their morning safari, they sat down for breakfast in the restaurant area. Suddenly a large elephant appeared, ducked under the roof, and casually just walked in. Not long after a younger elephant entered the restaurant. The elephants just casually continued through the middle of the restaurant and went out the other side again. Not once did the elephants touch or bump anything in the restaurant. The elephants didn’t even look around, while looking very casual, as if they have done it many times. For the elephants it was just passing through on their way somewhere. It turns out that the restaurant is built in an area that is part of an age-old elephant migratory route, with elephants occasionally passing through in such a manner. Amazing how man and wildlife can coexist in the wild.

The life of an elephant in the African wild is filled with danger and daily challenges. It takes determination and willpower to survive in such a hostile and unforgiving wilderness environment. Watching and observing these giant creatures facing their daily challenges is majority of the time a very rewarding and inspirational experience. During a safari in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, these people came across a herd of elephants making their way through a difficult river crossing. Once the herd managed their way through the river, the elephants had to climb up a <a href="https://rumble.com/v4nxsd-south-african-baby-elephant-cant-get-out-of-mud-hole.html" target="_blank">muddy and slippery riverbank</a> to get out of the river. The majority of the elephants in the herd successfully made it through and up the riverbank onto the other side. This particular young male elephant seen in the video had to put in more than just his strength and energy to get out of the river. The first attempt by the youngster to get out of the river resulted in an epic failure. At first it looks like he will make it on the first attempt but then the young elephant loses his footing, slips and falls hard while sliding down the riverbank back into the water. This elephant did not lose faith in his own abilities after his initial failure. He picks himself up while looking very determined to get out. The willpower of this youngster was clear. With all his strength and energy he attempts one more time. With sheer dedication, the elephant finally manages to pull himself up the bank and successfully gets himself out of the river. Once the young elephant was out, he quickly ran towards his mother looking very relieved. Observing this behavior displayed by the young elephant was a great example of the fact that those who are driven enough to succeed will never give up after the first failed attempt of a challenge. The cute <a href="https://rumble.com/v4l63j-tenacious-baby-elephant-adamantly-head-butts-his-bigger-brother.html" target="_blank">baby elephant</a> struggles to cross a muddy riverbed and passes with flying colors. The tenacious rascal manages to tackle the slippery riverbank and manages to get out of the difficult situation. Watching the determination of this adorable little guy after he kept on sinking into the mud over and over again, shows us to never give up, because success might be just around the corner.

The video shows a bull elephant that is not happy with the presence of a warthog, attempting to chase it away with his intimidating behavior. Elephants are the largest land mammals on earth, and they know it. Because of their size, elephants need to drink water on a daily basis, and lots of it. One thing is for sure, elephants are selfish with their water and almost always never want to share the space around any watering hole with any other animals. We were watching a warthog, peacefully drinking water when suddenly this large bull elephant appeared. The elephant stopped when he saw the warthog and stared it down. The next moment I could see the elephant was not happy with the warthog being at the water. Suddenly the elephant let out a scary sounding sound while mock charging the warthog. All the warthog wanted to do is finish drinking water, and so it did. I was totally amazed to see that with all the threatening behavior coming for the grumpy elephant, the warthog didn’t seem to be fazed by the elephant’s behavior and just moved off a little to continue drinking every time the elephant tried to chase it away. In the end, the warthog won the battle as the elephant realized that the warthog was not being intimidated and decided to leave and find another drinking spot.

The video shows a lioness, anxiously watching her two cubs swimming through a dangerous river, hoping that they will make it safely to the other side. The African wild is a hostile environment, filled with treacherous terrains and dangerous animals. Extreme weather conditions at certain times of the year like heat waves and floods add additional pressure on the survival of many animals. ‘Only the strongest will survive’ is something that rings true in the African wild daily. During the rainy season, floods can cause all kinds of challenges for humans and wild animals. Rivers will come down with great masses of water, making large parts inaccessible, challenging animals that are on the move even more. During the wet season in the Kruger National Park, the lioness in the video was spotted standing on the one side of a river, looking concerned while staring at the opposite side of the river. Even though lions hate swimming, it looked like the lioness had no choice to cross the river onto safer grounds, then expecting her young to follow. Suddenly a lion cub jumped in the water and started swimming across. The lioness made these soft contact calls while her cub swam across, motivating it to get to the other side towards her. Rivers in the African wild are crawling with crocodiles and hippos, two species of animals that can even put fear into a dangerous animal such as a lion. Soon after, a second cub jumped in and swam across, with the lioness encouraging the second cub while looking very anxious. Amazingly both cubs made it through to join the mother safely, turning the scary and tense moments into a happy and heartwarming ending.

The phrase ‘as happy as a pig in mud’ comes to mind while watching this video. I mean just look at them. Two warthogs scratching their bums in the mud after their mud bath. You can see they are just loving it and having so much fun at the same time. We came across these two warthogs covered in mud at a watering hole in Kruger Park, South Africa. The one hog got up and moved further away to find his own little patch of mud. Then the real funny part started. The one that stayed behind started rubbing his bum in the mud, backwards and forward. This made for some real entertaining viewing and we all had a good laugh. One could just imagine how much relief there must have been for this warthog with his itchy bum. It seemed like he just absolutely loved it. When we started looking around for the other one, we could not believe our eyes. In the distance, there was the other one busy with the exact the same thing. The only difference was that this one was rubbing and scratching his bum at a much faster and persistent pace. Clearly his bum was a whole lot more itchy than that of his friend on the other side. This rubbing and scratching of bums was typical warthog behaviour and every single time an absolute pleasure to watch and observe. Because warthogs have typically hairless bodies, they regularly take a mud bath. Wallowing in the mud help regulate their body temperature on hot days. The thermoregulatory ‘bath’ also aids in parasite removal. Warthogs are prone to rubbing themselves on any convenient place like a wooden post, rock or just in the mud. Ticks and parasites are encrusted by the mud and by rubbing and scratching their itchy body parts they get rid of it in that way.

The video shows a bird picking at the ear of a rhinoceros before disappearing with its whole body inside the rhino’s ear. The African wild hosts an incredible variety of wild animals. While each animal in the wild is unique on its own, it is incredible to see how different types of animals interact and associate with each other. One example of such an interesting relationship is that of the oxpecker bird who lives in association with medium to large mammalian herbivores in the African wild. The hosts that oxpecker birds use range from impala, warthog, zebra, giraffe, buffalo, rhino, and hippo. These birds spend their daylight hours picking and consuming ticks and parasites out of the pelage of their hosts in a win-win relationship known as mutualistic symbiosis. Both species involved benefit from the relationship. The birds get a daily guaranteed meal, while their hosts receive a grooming, keeping their skin and hair free from itchy ticks and parasites that can cause disease. Watching these birds in action is always a fascinating experience while on safari. During a safari in the Kruger National Park, we came across a herd of rhino. Almost every rhino had a bird or two on it. I started filming one oxpecker bird on a rhino’s head. It was bouncing around on the rhino’s forehead before targeting one of the rhino’s ears. The bird was hanging onto the rhino’s ear like it would onto a branch in a tree. The bird started picking at the ticks and parasites that end up in the rhino’s ear while it is grazing head-down through the long grass. The bird had its head inside the ear of the rhino, looking for some juicy pickings. The next moment the bird decided it was going to have a look a little deeper down the rhino’s ear. To our amazement, the bird went into the rhino’s ear with its whole body and disappeared. It looked so bizarre to see this bird just disappearing into the rhino’s ear. The best of it all was that the rhino tolerated the bird inside its ear and never got agitated. Even more incredible was that the bird remained in there for almost a minute in which time my camera battery ran out, just missing the bird exiting the rhino’s ear again. Staying inside the rhino’s ear for that long must have been worth the while. The rhino looked happy with its clean ears and the bird surely got a fat meal out of the deal. Incredible Mother Nature at her best.

Footage captured in a Wilderness Camp in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Walking down a pathway, we came across this scene right next to the pathway. The snake was identified as a Western Stripe - bellied Sand Snake. It killed and swallowed a lizard called a rainbow skink. The footage show how the snake bites the lizard, injects it with venom and waiting for it to die. After a few last kicks from the lizard, the snake proceeded to swallow it whole, bit by bit. After finishing his meal,the snake moves across the path and one can clearly see the snake had a meal that will last it for a good while

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 an elephant bull getting angry after it spotted a leopard, quickly letting the dangerous big cat know who is in charge with his loud screaming sounds. Elephants are the world’s largest mammals walking this earth, and they know that. Besides for humans, there are very few predators that can kill or harm a healthy adult elephant in the wild. Due to their size, elephants mainly dominate the African savanna landscape in all aspects. From the watering holes to the feeding grounds, elephants make it clear that they are large and in charge. There are instances where predators such as lions and hyenas will attempt to hunt baby elephants, injured individuals, and older sickly animals with mixed results. Elephants usually move and live in herds, adding to the protection of these individuals. It is very difficult for predators to hunt an elephant amongst a whole herd that can become very angry and dangerous. Elephants in general do not tolerate the presence of any predator, whether it will ever be able to cause any damage or not. The video shows a classic example of this zero-tolerance behaviour. While watching a herd of elephants drinking at a watering hole, I noticed to the one side a lone leopard slowly appearing from the long grass. It looked like the leopard wanted to make its way to the water to quench its thirst. Immediately I knew that if the elephants do spot the leopard, they were not going to be happy with its presence. Leopards are smaller than lions and they are not known to hunt elephants at all due to the size differences. None the less, they are still predators and elephants do not like any predator, no matter what. The leopard didn’t seem to worry about being spotted. It was clearly thirsty and slowly made its way into the open towards the water. It didn’t take long for one elephant bull to spot the leopard. The elephant bull’s behaviour quickly changed into high alert while making a deep scary sound to alarm the rest of the herd. The elephant and leopard stood there staring at each other for a short moment. Suddenly the elephant charged towards the leopard while letting out a loud screaming sound. The leopard had no choice but to retreat and leave the water drinking for later. The leopard turned around and slowly moved off with the elephant coming closer again, making deep rumbling sounds, just to make sure the leopard understands who is in charge. The leopard slowly disappeared back into the thickets with the elephant staring after it before relaxing again. This is a great example of no matter how dangerous you are, size does matter a lot out in the African wild.

Having to constantly chase intruders away from your lunch table can become a tiresome business. Watch how two hyenas relentlessly charge into a large number of very hungry vultures, hopelessly attempting to save what is left of their meal. Surviving in the African wild is a tough deal for wild animals and the phrase ‘Sharing is caring’ does not apply. When there is food around, competition is fierce and there is always someone else in line that will challenge you for it. It was during a safari in the Kruger National Park that we came across a carcass of what seemed to be that of an old giraffe. There was not much left of the carcass besides the bones and bits of meat in between. At the carcass was two hyenas busy feasting away on the left-over food. Hyenas are not the only scavengers in the African bush and it was not long before a small number of vultures arrived. At first the two hyenas were not much bothered by the arrival of the vultures but it quickly changed when the number of vultures increased immensely. The vultures started feeding on the strips of meat between the bones on the one side of the carcass and the two hyenas were crushing bones on the other side. We could sense that tensions were rising and that the hyenas were not prepared to share their food with all the vultures. Suddenly the one hyena chases into the vultures with a burst of speed. There would be a flutter of wings as the vultures were scared off but as soon as the hyena turned its back the vultures would move back in. The second hyena also had a go and charging into the vultures became more and more frequent. It started to look like a hopeless case for the hyenas as their threatening running charges did little to scare off the vultures. It started to look like the hyenas will end up hungrier than what they originally were. It all became too much for the hyenas. One hyena gave up and disappeared and it was not long before the second hyena realised that it was totally outnumbered. The last hyena finally dropped the leg of the giraffe it was chewing on and slowly disappeared into the bush. Once the hyenas finally gave up their meal, it was swarmed by vultures immediately that finished off most of the remains during the rest of the day. It was incredible to watch how the whole story unfolded right in front of us and we realised that even if you are as big and scary looking as a hyena, in the end, determination with great numbers on your side usually wins the day.

The video shows a lioness, stalking and trying to hunt a bird at a watering hole in a rather playful manner. The lion is Africa’s biggest cat, and these cats are natural born killers in order to survive. When they are cubs, lions love stalking, chasing, biting, and jumping on top of each other during their playtime. These are all the necessary skills and actions they will need to become formidable hunters. As lions grow older, all that playful energy and actions become more serious and is directed towards pretty much anything that moves. All these actions, over and over, turn them into hunters to survive as adults. With that said, while lions are the biggest cats in Africa, they also have the worst hunting success rate of all other carnivores in Africa, with only forty percent of their attempts turning out to be a meal. The lioness in the video is no older than two years old and looking at her behaviour, she thought she had a chance to hunt the bird but in a rather playful manner. Whether the young lioness was serious or just playing, she was inexperienced and still learning. Older and wiser lions will never even bother with attempting to hunt a bird, as it is hilariously easy for any bird like the one in the video to just fly away a little, draining lots of precious energy lions will need to take down bigger prey.

This video was recorded while on Safari in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. We stopped at a waterhole to watch a few hippos lazing around in the water. Hippos spend most of their day in the water, keeping their skin cool and protected from the harsh African sun. During the day they will do as little as possible. Around dusk time they start leaving the water to go and graze for a few hours. We watched these lazy hippos in the water for a while when we noticed something interesting and funny. Out of nowhere, these birds started landing on the heads of some of the hippos. They were identified as Oxpeckers. Oxpecker birds are one of the most fascinating bird species in Africa. These birds predominantly lives on ticks. They also feed on ectoparasites and blood from wounds. Their favourite host animals are Giraffe, Buffalo, Rhino, Kudu and occasionally hippo. It was during the heat of the day and these birds saw another opportunity instead of parasites on the hippo’s skin. They wanted a safe place from where they could drink water. They found that safe place right in the middle of the waterhole, on a hippo’s head. It is a lot safer than landing on land at the edge of the water and then trying to have a drink while you are vulnerable to many terrestrial dangers such as snakes and monitor lizards. These birds also only have limited time on the head of the hippo and they must drink quickly. Eventually the hippo will move and chase them off or it will go under water. This video shows how the birds have to get their timing right while one of them even gets sprayed by the breathing of one of the hippos. They stick it out right until the end when the hippos decide to go under the water eventually. It was a great experience to witness such comical interaction between mammals weighing over two tons and birds each weighing in at 60 grams.

The video shows how a mother elephant protects her baby from a pack of dangerous and hungry African wild dogs, using her intimidating size and aggressive behaviour. While driving along one of the main roads inside the Kruger National Park, we saw an elephant cow and her calf in the distance ahead of us, slowly walking in the middle of the road. Animals like walking on the tarred roads, as it is just the way of least resistance, specially when the bush is thick during the summer. As we approached closer, we noticed the mother elephant and her calf came to a standstill in the road and the mother elephant did not look happy. The mother elephant’s behavior changed quickly with her ears flapping, looking aggressive from behind. Once we got even closer, we realized the elephants bumped into a pack of African wild dog, who also love using the roads during their hunting expeditions. The African wild dog is a highly endangered carnivore species in Africa, and they hunt in packs, using the same strategy as wolfs. Wild dogs will take on any prey that they can run down and overpower with their numbers. Baby elephants are the perfect hunting size for these dogs but African wild dog hunting down a baby elephant is very rare as there is always one huge challenge or obstacle they must deal with, an angry and protective mother. The mother elephant made sure her baby was always safe, keeping it standing behind her while she would flap her ears and charge towards the wild dogs, letting out her intimidating and loud trumpeting sounds. The African wild dogs didn’t seem too faced by the threats of the mother elephant. The dogs didn’t run away all scared, but they got the message very clear to stay away from the mother and her baby. With the aggressive messages delivered, the mother elephant and her baby turned around and moved off safely back into the bush, while the dogs eventually lost interest and carried playing around in the road.

This video shows a frog’s smart tactic of grabbing onto the face of a predatory bird, determined not be swallowed. The video also resembles two life situations many of us can relate to. Sometimes our eyes can be too big for our stomachs and secondly, never give up when you are fighting for something, especially your own life. When going on safari, the focus is mostly on finding the big mammals roaming the African bush. While the larger and more popular animal species attract more attention, the African wild of course is filled with so many other smaller animals such as birds, reptiles, and insects. When you spend a little more time looking closer, you will discover a whole new world. While leading a safari I could never have imagined that we will be so fascinated by a frog and a bird. We arrived at a small watering hole during our early morning safari. There were no animals around to be seen. After scanning the area thoroughly, I suddenly noticed some erratic movement at the edge of the water. It was a predatory bird called a hammerhead stork. Their diet consists primarily of frogs, tadpoles, small fish, crustaceans, worms, and insects and are almost always found near water. This particular bird had a huge frog in its mouth. After slapping the frog around a few times, the bird decided it was time to swallow. I thought to myself, ‘gosh that is one big meal to swallow for breakfast’. A whole frog like that would last the bird for more than a day. But to everybody’s total surprise, the frog had different plans with a true ‘never say die’ attitude. As the bird attempted to swallow the frog, the frog would react by grabbing and then holding onto the beak and face of the bird. This tactic made it impossible for the bird to swallow the frog. This was fascinating and hilarious at the same time to watch. These hammerhead storks normally make a quick deal out of their meal but not this time round. For a second time the bird attempted to swallow the frog. Once again, the frog refused to be swallowed, grabbing the bird’s face, holding on for dear life. That frog decided that it was not going down on that day and amazingly the bird eventually dropped the frog and moved on, realising its eyes on this occasion was way bigger than its stomach.

The video shows a very energetic and playful baby rhino having the time of its life while running around chasing after birds. Baby animals in the African wild are adorable and they always bring about a heart-warming experience when you lucky enough to find them in their natural environment in wild. Baby animals in nature are cute little creatures, while their behaviour can be amusing, bringing a smile to anyone’s face. When you are lucky enough to find one of the largest animals in the African wild in baby form, it is always a priceless experience. Baby rhinos can become very playful, and like many other baby animals growing up, they are full of energy and very entertaining to watch. The baby rhino in this video is a classic example. While feeding along the banks of a river with its mother, this baby rhino thought it was a good time to have some fun with chasing birds around while mommy continues with her grazing. The baby rhino was like a little bouncing ball, filled with lots of energy and playfulness. The baby rhino was sprinting up and down, having a blast by running randomly towards any bird that was close by. It looked like the baby rhino was really loving it to see how the birds ran away from it or flying off when it charged towards them. The baby rhino went up and down, up and down until most of the birds moved off. The adorable baby rhino then ran one more time in a big circle, looking like it was doing a victory lap, before finally coming to a standstill right behind its mother, who was still grazing away all along. It is incredible to see how a baby animal in the wild can have so much fun all by itself during playtime.

The word hyena brings a rather scary picture to mind for most people. Blood thirsty and dangerous predators living off the left overs of other predators. That whole scary picture totally disappears when you look at them when they are only six weeks old. These little black fur balls are probably the cutest of all predator babies in the African wild. Hyena cubs are extremely curious little creatures. They will bite, lick and chew absolutely everything they can find. It is rather entertaining to watch these cubs. This little guy found his mother’s ear very amusing and was in a playful mood. He could not stop sniffing and licking her ear. He also started nibbling on it and at one stage he was comically shoving his nose down her ear to get a better sniff. Near the end, a second cub pops out the den to see what little brother was up to. Our hearts melted when both of them turned around and looked at the camera. The look on those little faces were just absolutely adorable. Poor mommy was out hunting and feeding the whole night. She was exhausted. She allowed them to carry on regardless. This is all part of the family bonding that is so crucial in the life of a hyena. From a young age these little cubs are given every opportunity to hone their skills and develop strong relationships within their clan. One day when they are big and a little scarier looking, these crucial little play times with mommy will come in handy and help them survive an extremely hostile environment. Hyenas are crucial to the eco system of the African bush. They are the ‘hoovers’ of the bush and literally keeps the bush clean. Without hyenas, the bush would be filled with rotten carcasses and leftover meat. That in turn would lead to a number of diseases that would be detrimental to all other wildlife in the wild.

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 African lion is well known as the biggest, most fearsome and powerful predator on the continent. To see a big male lion displaying his sheer brute strength, right in front of you when dragging a giraffe carcass around all by himself, gives you a whole new perspective of what the words ‘powerful predator’ means. During a long visit to the Kruger National Park there was one morning when a pride of lions hunted down a large and very old male giraffe. The pride consisted of one big male lion, four lionesses and three cubs. The pride of lions then continued for about three days gorging themselves until on the third evening, the females and the cubs decided they had enough and moved on to a watering hole some distance away. The male lion decided to stay behind with the remains which included the whole neck of the old male giraffe and all his legs and hooves. We arrived the next morning to check up on the male and his remaining meal. He was still alone and we could see that during the first hours of the morning, vultures spotted the carcass from the air as the carcass was still lying in the open. A whole lot of vultures would become troublesome for the male lion all by himself as he would just run around chasing hungry vultures away and wasting unnecessary energy as the day heats up. As more vultures started closing in from a distance, the big male lion decided it was time to move his remaining carcass into the thickets and out of sight from all the nosy scavengers. I started to film the male lion’s solo attempt to drag the carcass, thinking that even with the whole body of the giraffe gone, it will still be too heavy for the lone male. The neck alone of a giraffe can weigh up to six hundred pounds and is about six feet long while the legs are also around six feet long with each leg weighing up to two hundred pounds. I was totally shocked by the sheer brute strength of this big male lion. The male lion grabbed the giraffe carcass by the neck and started dragging it out of the open. I thought he would not get very far but the lion was persistent to protect the remainder of his meal and get it out of sight. The male lion continued with his mind-blowingly powerful effort while every once in a while, he would pause, take a few big breaths, change his grip and continue putting in all his strength to drag his food for almost fifty meters in the end. The male lion then reached some deeper thickets into which he disappeared with his food, out of sight from all of us. I was absolutely amazed by the determination and full-on display of his power when he really needed it.

This video show what it looks like when one of Africa's top predators, The Spotted Hyena, come together in numbers. Covered in blood, these hyenas were busy devouring a whole African Buffalo which they stole away from 4 lions earlier that morning. Things can really get heated around the dinner table when these predators get into action. To everyone’s amazement and distress, the one hyena ended up coming straight towards the vehicle to the driver’s side with a funny look on his face. Once it reached the driver’s door side, a bash with the knee against the door from the inside was all that was needed to scare it away from the vehicle. This amazing but tense experience was the highlight of the safari for all tourists

The African elephant is the largest and most powerful land mammal roaming our planet. The video shows a real-life example of just how powerful they really are when an elephant bull, almost effortlessly, pushes over a large marula tree in the African wild. Finding elephants on safari in an open vehicle can be an intimidating experience, as we all know what elephants are capable off, being the heaviest and the strongest land mammal on earth. Reports of elephants rolling tourist vehicles in various safari parks around Africa is not unusual, while these giants have the ability to move or remove anything in their way. Many times, something does not have to be in their way, it is just because they can. Seeing this incredible display of power and strength in front of you during a safari is a next level experience. Pushing over massive trees is another speciality and ability of big elephant bulls. The video shows a big bull elephant in the Kruger National Park, busy pushing over a large tree called a marula tree. Marula trees are one of the most popular trees for elephants and giraffes to feed on. These trees hold beautiful fruits during summer and the tree itself is always storing a lot of water in its branches, down the tree trunk and into the roots, all swollen with water right through the year. Elephants know all of this and if you are big enough, pushing over and uprooting a marula tree during the dry season will supply you with a juicy meal for a good period of time. The bull elephant made it look so easy and with a few pushes, with the tree swaying back and forth, the tree fell over with a huge crashing noise. Gone is a fifty plus year old tree in under a minute. It’s sad in a way to think about it like that but on the other hand elephants play a vital role in transforming the African landscape at the same time. After the elephant would spend a day or two feeding on the tree, he would leave. There where the tree has fallen, a whole new environment and hiding places for smaller animals are created.