EmotionsofAfrica

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.

The video shows how a group of lionesses take no nonsense from two male lions that attempted to steal their food. Life in the African wild can be brutal, and when it comes to food, especially for predators such as lions, things can get really rough. There are two main things of lions that are not to be messed with and that is their babies and their food. Lionesses normally do the hunting for the prides and the males will then usually come and take over and be the first to eat. This does not always work like that in the lion world as shown in the video. The lionesses in the video managed to pull down a buffalo. While all the female lions were feeding, they suddenly stopped and became very aggressive towards something that was approaching in the bush. Their sub adult cubs ran for their lives and suddenly the lionesses went into serious attack mode. The next moment the male lions appeared and that was when the lionesses brutally started attacking the two male lions that was approaching. It sounded ruthless and there were sounds of loud growls and snarling. It looked like the females managed to give the males a good hiding. The males started roaring to show off their dominance and chased after the females that decided it was time for them to make a run for it, luring the males further away from their food.

The video shows how a pack of African wild dogs hunt down an antelope that attempts to escape by hiding in the middle of a lake. It was an early morning just before sunrise when I decided to go and film a beautiful sunrise over a lake, deep in the African wild. It is incredible how quickly things can change in the wild, and little did I know that I won’t even get to filming the sunrise. While setting up my filming gear, I suddenly heard a commotion down below at the lake. The next moment I saw an antelope jumping into the water and right behind it, a pack of African wild dogs. The wild dogs clearly have chased the antelope for a long way through the bush and the antelope decided it was best to jump into the water and move to the middle. It was dry season and the water level was low. African wild dogs are known for not liking to swim or be in water at all. The antelope found safety in the middle of the shallow lake, with the wild dogs running up and down the edge of the water on both sides, thinking how they are going to get the antelope out the water. This lasted for half an hour and in that time I made my way down to the bottom of the lake to get a closer look. On my arrival, the wild dogs clearly decided that they will have to face the water and started running straight towards the antelope. From there it was over for the antelope. The wild dogs eventually caught the antelope and quickly dragged it to shore. Once on land, the hungry wild dogs made the kill and started feeding.