EmotionsofAfrica

This video is overloaded with cuteness. To see the adorable babies of one of Africa’s rarest carnivores, in the wild, was just priceless. Together with the Ethiopian wolf, the African wild dog is the rarest carnivore in Africa and getting to see these top hunting predators is rare. The wild dogs of Africa are excellent hunters and together in packs, they roam incredibly large areas in the last remaining protected areas in Southern Africa. Once a year during winter time, the African wild dog breeds and having the opportunity to see their young in the wild is a once in a lifetime experience. During a recent safari in the Kruger National Park in South Africa, we were lucky enough to visit a wild dog den that was discovered a few days earlier by a local ranger. The African wild dog usually uses a burrow in an old termite mound as their den which they dig deeper to their preference. On our arrival at the den, the mother was outside alone and we could not see any puppies. It was not long before the mother moved to the entrance of the den and started calling her babies. The next moment a whole bunch of the most adorable wild dog puppies burst out of the hole in the mound. The wild dog puppies looked incredibly happy to see their loving mother. After greeting and checking on each one of her thirteen puppies, the wild dog mother allowed her babies to have their fill of milk. It was incredible to see so many puppies drinking on the mother all at once. After the mother wild dog was done, she allowed her extremely playful puppies to play and enjoy themselves outside the den. The wild dog puppies were very energetic, while biting, pushing and jumping on each other. The wild dog puppies totally maximized their somewhat fifteen minutes outside the den before they disappeared back into their hole. We left the sight of the den feeling very privileged to have seen such a natural wonder out in the African wild.

It’s fascinating to watch how elephants use their trunks to drink water. The baby elephant seen in this video took a different approach after deciding that shoving its face into the water for a drink was much easier than using its trunk. Besides being the largest land mammal on earth, elephants are one of the most amusing and interesting wild animals to find while on a safari in Africa. Probably the most striking feature of an elephant is its trunk. An elephant’s trunk is a unique apparatus not shared by any other mammal on earth. During a recent safari in Kruger National Park, we came across a herd of elephants standing around a watering hole busy drinking. We were fascinated by how meticulous and precise the elephants were in using their trunks to slowly slurp up just enough water before spraying it into their mouths. For baby elephants, mastering the task of drinking water with their trunks takes a lot of practice during the first two years of life. We managed to see this first hand when the most adorable male baby elephant decided to also have a drink in the manner the adults do. This task seemed more like a bit of a struggle for the youngster. We could see how the water just streamed back out of his trunk and mouth every time he attempted to get a drink of water. At first the baby elephant looked a little hopeless in his attempts but he was not bothered at all as he had a much easier and quicker way of drinking than any of the other elephants. To our amazement the baby elephant shoved his face in the water and took a few big gulps of water. It looked awkward and hilarious at the same but it was clearly effective. The baby elephant then continued to practice the use of his trunk before he decided one more time that drinking straight with his mouth is just so much quicker and easier than practicing to so the proper thing. It was such an amazing experience watching the little fellow going about his own way of doing something like drinking water.

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.

To witness the birth of life in nature is always such a fortunate and special experience. Getting the opportunity to watch the tallest land mammal on the planet give birth in the wild, right in front of us, was a real-life changing experience. It was during a recent safari in the Kruger National Park that we came across a small herd of giraffes. These tall giants are always on the list of safari goers ‘must see’ list and one of the most photographed wildlife species in Africa. The unique build and structure of the giraffe is what most people find very amusing as no other animal on earth can really be compared to a giraffe. While everyone was entertained by the beautiful creatures all around us, I suddenly noticed an adult female in the distance. She was standing some distance away from the herd on her own and she did not look very comfortable in the way she was standing. I decided to slowly drive a little closer. The female giraffe was standing with her legs much wider apart from each other than what they would normally do. When we came to the backside of the female giraffe, we were totally stunned by what we saw. The female was busy giving birth right there and the new born calf was already hanging out half body, with its neck and front legs already out. We couldn’t believe that we were actually watching the tallest land mammal on earth giving birth right in front of us in the wild. We could only imagine what the mother giraffe must have gone through giving birth to such a large calf. The mother giraffe stood strong while she continued to push, standing with a wider stance. Everyone was holding their breaths when the whole calf suddenly dropped down to the ground. Luckily the calf itself is already tall at birth so the tumble to the ground was not that far as some would believe it to be. This miracle moment was met by a great sigh of relief from everyone on the safari vehicle.

Having wildlife visiting our garden is not uncommon, but walking out the house to find a small wild antelope going absolutely bonkers chasing birds like a dog through our garden, was a totally new and hilarious experience I managed to capture on my phone. Living and working in a wilderness area give us the opportunity to be really close to nature on a daily basis. Surrounded by the African bush, we do occasionally have wild animals entering the camp area that we live in. Antelope and elephants in general are very keen visitors, especially to all the gardens where lots of greenery are found right through the year. Usually, wild animals would not just appear near the camp or my house but rather wait until there is not a lot of movement around before moving into the gardens to enjoy a quiet sneaky feed before quietly disappearing again. On this occasion it was a late Sunday afternoon and of course not much movement around my house. While lying on the couch inside the house, I suddenly heard a flutter and noise of birds in my garden. I slowly got up and saw that a small antelope was standing at the bottom of my garden. At first nothing seemed out the ordinary with the antelope being in the garden, but I quickly became totally stunned and amazed by what followed. While standing still, the antelope suddenly developed a serious surge of energy, bouncing and running around. In the process the antelope decided it will focus its energy on all the birds in the garden. It was hilarious to watch and I could not really understand why the sudden urge by this little antelope to start chasing birds through my garden just like a pet dog would do. At first, I thought to myself that this would be a quick show of rare behaviour but I was wrong. The very playful wild antelope continued running around the garden and chasing birds for at least another 5 minutes. To end the whole bizarrely funny ordeal, the antelope showed incredible agility and jumped right on top of my concrete birdbath, holding its balance while quenching its thirst after a long stint of chasing birds around in the garden. I have seen many interesting animal behaviours while living out in the wild but this very random entertaining few minutes delivered by the antelope is surely something I will remember for a long time.

When talking about scary noises coming from the African wild, it is common to think that the scariest noises might come from large predators such as lions, hyenas and leopards. Even elephant bulls can sound scary at times but few things beat the fearful and intimidating roars and grunts of two hippo bulls during a territorial display standoff. It was during a late afternoon safari in the Kruger National Park when we came across a large dam and decided to spend some time observing the life in and around the water. The most prominent animals in the area were a small number of hippos in the water. While scanning around for birdlife and other potential smaller animals, we suddenly heard these nightmarish sounds coming from the other side of the dam. We drove around to investigate and came across two male hippos standing half body out the water facing each other. The one hippo bull was clearly way larger and older than the other and the two bulls was not happy with each other. Hippos are very territorial and mature hippo bulls control a whole area such as the dam that we were at. Territorial bulls usually tolerate bachelor males within their domain as long as they behave submissively. There are times, as in this instance, that the mature bulls have to put these young rivals in their place with what is called dominance or threat displays. These displays involve yawning to show off their dangerous tusks, water scooping and head shaking, explosive exhalation accompanied by the scariest sounding grunting and roaring sounds. Watching this incredible display of dominance playing off in front of us was absolutely mind blowing while the noises send chills down our spines. The two hippo bulls continued with their showdown and scary noises until the young bull suddenly stopped, showing submissiveness in the end. Just like that the noises and jaw snapping stopped and the hippos returned back into the water as if nothing happened.

Sitting in the comfort of your own plunge pool while admiring the African wildlife in front of you is a holiday experience never to be forgotten. Having the African wildlife come to your pool for a drink, like these elephants did, is a whole different and unforgettable experience on its own. During a recent break away weekend, my wife and I decided to treat ourselves to a safari lodge in the Greater Kruger area of South Africa. With the current pandemic there are unfortunately no international tourists currently coming on safari in South Africa and all safari lodges have dropped their prices to make it more attractive for the domestic travel market. We decided to take advantage of this and even got ourselves into a room that had a plunge pool in front of it. It was sheer luxury in our minds and nothing beats sitting in your own private plunge pool on a hot summer day while viewing the wild animals in the distance. It was one of those hot afternoons and we decided not to go on safari but rather relax at the comfort of our room and swimming pool. I just got comfortable in the pool when I noticed a large herd of elephants in the distance. I got out to get my camera. On my return I got back into the pool and realised that the elephant herd was slowly making their way towards my direction. At first, they looked a little nervous and I just remained quiet sitting in the back corner of the pool. Before I knew it, the front part of the large elephant herd walked right up to the swimming pool, reached with their trunks over the edge of the pool and started drinking water from the swimming pool. I could not believe what I was seeing in front of me. It was like I did not even exist and the elephants continued drinking from the pool. There was even a little baby elephant among the herd but the little elephant unfortunately could not reach the pool water with its trunk. The elephants rotated and majority of the herd had their fair share of water which also left the pool with more than a third of its water consumed. The herd eventually moved on with their journey leaving me totally stunned with my close experience with these incredible giants.

Few things on a safari are as entertaining as watching baby elephants play in the mud, especially when they end up in the most awkward positions. It was during a late morning safari in the Kruger National Park when we came across a small herd of elephants standing around a mud wallow. The heat of the day was already rising and these elephants were taking the opportunity to cool themselves down by splashing their bodies with the mud. We decided to stop and watch the elephants enjoy their mud bath. In the herd there were a few younger elephants and baby elephants. Watching these youngsters being active near mud usually delivers really entertaining viewing. It was not long before I spotted one elephant that went to lie down flat on its side in the mud. It was the quickest way for the elephant to get most of its body covered with mud. While watching the elephant enjoying his lie down in the mud, things became even more entertaining when a male baby elephant arrived on the scene. The elephant lying in the mud was too much of a temptation for the baby elephant to ignore and signalled playtime to the youngster. The baby elephant then proceeded to climb on top of the bigger elephant. The bigger elephant bull lying in the mud did not seem too amused by the fact that there was young male elephant jumping onto him. The baby elephant was looking adorable while attempting to slide his body over that of his big brother. The elephant lying down finally decided to ignore the baby elephant and laid down his head, causing the baby elephant to lose his position, tumbling down onto his back with all four feet up in the air. This was one of the funniest moments with baby elephants I have seen in a long time. The baby elephant was lying down on his back with all four feet kicking up in the air for quite some time in the attempt to get back onto his feet. Eventually the baby elephant managed to fall over onto his side. At the same time the older elephant quickly got back onto his feet and decided to rather move on after his mud bath was interrupted. The baby elephant slowly managed to get back onto his own four feet, after his playful ‘falling around’ adventures came to an end and left with the rest of the herd. We left the area feeling really happy and heart warmed by the funny and adorable moments these elephants created for us.

There are times when rare events and sights in the African wild can absolutely stun you. I recently came across one of those rare and very unusual sights; an adult male elephant with one leg amputated, amazingly walking around and surviving in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. It was in the middle of a hot day in a private rest camp in the Kruger National Park. Safari guests were taking a break from the heat after a long morning safari drive. The beauty of this rest camp was that there is a watering hole in the front of the camp. This gives everyone the opportunity to enjoy game viewing from the comfort of the rest camp located in the shade. A large herd of elephants came to visit the watering hole during the heat of the day and made for a spectacular sight in front of the camp. After quenching their thirsts, the herd of elephants slowly started moving away from the water. From the opposite direction, a lone elephant appeared from the bush approaching the watering hole. This elephant was clearly one of the stragglers in the herd. We suddenly noticed there was something very strange about the way this elephant walked and to our shock realized that this adult male elephant was walking on three feet only. I have never seen anything like this in my life. I ran to grab my camera and started filming this bizarre looking sight in front of us. It was incredible to see how this male elephant actually managed to move forward. It did not look very comfortable at all but he was moving forward effectively. Due to this slow walking manner, the male elephant was clearly lagging behind the rest of the herd. The first thought that came through my mind was that this elephant must be in incredible pain after losing part of his leg. After closer inspection we realised that the amputated leg had no signs of any raw flesh and we did not see any blood. With the relief of knowing that the elephant was not walking around with a raw open wound, we come to realise that this male elephant has been going like this for many years. We could even see the cracks on the worn skin at the bottom of the amputated leg, which also appears on the feet of elephants. My sense of shock turned into a huge admiration and level of respect for this male elephant. The African wild is one of the toughest places on earth to survive, and that is said for animals with all their limbs intact. This male elephant has taken determination to survive to the next level and we are sure, even though he was lagging behind, the hundred plus elephant herd that he belongs to has protected him all along against the many predators such an animal can easily fall prey to. The most accepted reason to why the male elephant lost part of his leg was that he most likely got caught in a snare during his young years and in the process lost that part of his leg. This male elephant gave me a whole new level of respect for the determination for survival of the African Elephant.

Watching baby elephants are one of the most rewarding things you can do while on an African safari. The video shows just how adorable baby elephants can be while dealing with their daily real-life struggles such as attempting to get back onto your feet while lying down in slippery mud. While on safari in the Kruger National Park, it didn’t take long for us to find our first sighting which was a small herd of elephants. The herd of elephants were on the banks of a small river busy drinking water and playing in the mud. Whenever elephants are near any water or mud, you can be assured that it will be a great experience to watch. Just observing the unique manner in which elephants drink water is a magical experience on its own. Some elephants, especially the youngsters, usually decides to cool down in the mud after their drink of water. This is usually where the real fun and entertaining watching starts. It didn’t take long to spot one of those funny and entertaining moments amongst the herd members. On the opposite side of the river bank was two baby elephants, one was kicking around in the mud in front of him while the smaller baby elephant was lying on its side in the mud. The baby elephant lying down in the mud was making sure that he got that one side of his body covered in mud, helping the elephants to cool down during the heat of the day. The most amusing part of the bay elephant’s behaviour was when it looked like it was making an attempt to get back on to its feet. The baby elephant managed to roll from its side onto its belly. From the belly down position the baby elephant looked very lazy and not very committed to really get back up onto its feet. With what looked like a real big effort, the baby elephant finally managed to get onto it is feet only to suddenly find itself in another wobbly moment. The mud under its feet was clearly slippery and the baby elephant nearly lost his footing before finally gathering himself to stand up straight next to mommy. We wholeheartedly enjoyed our experience and time with the herd of elephants. We left the herd alone and drove off, each person on the vehicle with a smile on their face and the fresh memories of the adorable baby elephant in the mud

While it is true that size does matter when involved in pushing and shoving, the right attitude on the other hand can make a huge difference, no matter the size of your opponent. Watch how a baby elephant shows that a determined attitude can go a long way, even when size is not on your side. It was during a late afternoon safari in the Kruger National Park when we came across a herd of elephants. As a safari guide you know that it is always wise to switch off your vehicle and observe. Elephants are almost always active and spending time watching a herd of elephants will mostly deliver some sort of entertaining behaviour. It was a large herd and the elephants were scattered all around us in smaller groups busy feeding. A sudden movement to my left drew my attention to two young male elephants, looking very busy. Suddenly the young elephants had everyone’s attention when they came smashing through the shrub. The one elephant still looked like a baby elephant while his older brother seemed considerably larger in size. Even though it might seem that the two young elephants were just fooling around, these displays are part of a young male elephant’s life. From an early age, young males establish a hierarchy through these ‘play fights’ that includes head butting, pushing, ramming and shoving each other with the head. Due to elephants being the largest land mammals on the planet, dominance in the hierarchy is established through size. It was so adorable to watch the young elephants going about their battle of pushing and butting each other around with their heads. What stood out the most about the events unfolding in front of us was how tenacious the baby elephant was, showing a real fighter attitude even though he was outsized by his brother. The smaller elephant stood his ground, pushing back as hard as he could. Near the end of the video the baby elephant even mock charged towards his bigger brother, giving him a fright in the process. After that, the bigger elephant brother decided that enough was enough and finally pushed his annoying little brother one last time for a good distance till the baby elephant finally realized that in the elephant world size really does matter.

While leading safaris in the African wild for many years, one of the most common questions I get from safari goers is ‘how do elephants sleep’? There is no one simple answer to this question and this video shows one of the many awkward forms and positions these giants can get into, just to get a little sleep. Being the largest land mammals on the planet, the African elephant is behaviorally adapted and physically structured in many incredible ways to survive in the African wild with such a large body. First things first, the African elephant’s main priority is food, and lots of it. For this reason, the priority of eating outweighs the priority of sleep by far. Elephants feed around twenty out of twenty-four hours a day and interestingly enough are feeding more active during the night than the day. This makes one think then when do elephants actually sleep? It was during the middle of the day on a safari in the Kruger National Park when we came across one large lone elephant bull standing in the shade of a big tree. It was extremely hot and we could see the old elephant bull was looking fairly tired, not feeding or doing much, just standing under the tree. The next moment the elephant bull slowly proceeded to rest his head against the trunk of the tree. It looked like the bull elephant was getting really comfortable and amazingly started dosing off, falling into a shallow sleep every now and then. It was incredible to sit and watch this large creature being happy to awkwardly rest his head against the tree trunk to take a nap. This old elephant bull was a great example of one of the many ways larger elephants can rest or sleep. From experience, majority of sleeping and resting happens during the heat of the day. All the hours of sleeping an elephant achieves does not happen all in one. Resting and sleeping will happen in short on and off periods. Where smaller elephants do actually lie down to sleep, larger elephants always have to improvise a way to lean their bodies against some sort of structure such as a tree or an embankment.

Watching elephants in the wild during an African safari is always a great experience. When these giants are in the vicinity of mud, you can be sure of great entertaining behaviour, especially when they perform awkward looking body movements one would only expect to have seen from a circus elephant in the olden days. It was during a safari in the Kruger National Park when we came across a large herd of elephants gathered around several mud wallows. The herd was scattered all over and our attention was fixed on a small group of large bull elephants, standing around a smaller wallow some distance away from the rest of the herd. It was a blazing hot summer morning and most of the elephants were splashing themselves with mud. The cool mud covering the elephant’s skin brings great relief from the heat. While watching the large elephant bulls enjoying their time in the mud, we noticed that the largest bull was missing his tail. The large bull’s body was almost completely covered in mud and he was just standing there, staring at the wallow for some time. Suddenly the big elephant bull looked like he was about to slip, but his movements became more intent and controlled. I was totally blown away to see the large old bull, slowly bending down onto his knees. I was totally confused by this incredibly awkward body position the bull elephant found himself in. Once on all fours, the elephant bull slowly stretched out his front legs, looking like he was enjoying a good stretch. The old elephant bull then dragged his stomach and hind legs through the mud before easily getting back onto his feet. The bull elephant then casually proceeded to stand next to the other bulls, slightly bumping them out the way, just to reiterate his dominance over them and the mud wallow. Everybody on the safari vehicle was in total awe to see how flexible and agile such a large and old elephant bull can be if he wants to. Whether the old bull just wanted a good stretch or maybe wanting to get mud into a few hard-to-reach places, we will only ever be able to assume and never really know. In the end we could only leave with the total amazement of such rarely seen behaviour out in the African wild.

Living and working in the African wild has given me many opportunities to film and document the behaviour of a vast number of wildlife species. One of my favourite species of wildlife to observe and film is the African elephant. On the rare occasion, as shown in this video, these African giants will let you know when they are not impressed by the presence of your filming equipment. This can lead to very interesting footage in the end. It was late afternoon when I decided to head out into the wild on my own, kitted with all my filming equipment. I was specifically out searching for a herd of elephants to film. African elephants are my favourite animals to film in the wild as they are almost always busy doing something. Spending lots of time with any herd of elephants can deliver many memorable behaviours and experiences. The Kruger National Park hosts one of the largest populations of African elephant on the continent and finding these giants normally does not take too long. I came across a small herd of male adult elephants close to the road. I switched off and started observing. As a keen wildlife videographer, one always attempts to capture your subject from as many angles and distances as possible. Getting close up footage of the world’s largest terrestrial mammal in its natural environment takes some creative planning and a bit of luck. This was where my GoPro came in pretty handy. Together with the right equipment, planning the rest of the shot involves a lot of anticipation while closely monitoring the elephant herd’s behaviour. Of course, you cannot just throw the camera at the elephant and hope for the best. Anticipating where the elephants will go next is the main priority to get it right. This can take a lot of time and patience. It can vary from getting it right the first time to a whole day or even a week’s worth of attempts. The small herd of bull elephants was slowly grazing towards the direction of the road. I anticipated where they would cross the road, placed my GoPro among some elephant dung for camouflage and moved away some distance. That is where the waiting starts. The elephants can at any moment change direction and move off and the plan can fail. I became excited when I saw two bull elephants crossing the road near the camera but it was yet still too far a shot for anything worthwhile. My excitement levels increased when one large bull elephant slowly walked past the camera before he stopped and took a step back. The bull elephant clearly spotted the small black foreign object lying among the elephant dung and started sniffing it with his trunk. After investigating the camera with his trunk, the bull elephant gave it one more look and kicked it over with his front right foot. Luckily the camera fell in the right position and the GoPro managed to snap a great shot of the elephant straight from below upwards. After showing that he was not really impressed by the camera, the bull elephant casually crossed the road and continued feeding into the bush with the rest of the herd.

It is not everyday that you see wildlife casually strolling through the streets of any town or city. When a family of warthogs appeared in the middle of a main road in town, traffic came to a standstill. It was during a recent trip to a remote area of the Kruger National Park that we decided to visit the nearest town that was an hour and a half drive from where we were. Going to town is usually a full day exercise. It was during the holiday season and the town was fairly busy. I am not keen on entering grocery stores so I decided to go and run a few errands of my own. When I approached my vehicle in the parking lot, I suddenly noticed a group of warthogs appearing and disappearing between the vehicles in the parking lot. I could see they were heading straight for the main road that was situated in front of the shopping centre. I was little stunned by what I saw and quickly grabbed my camera from the vehicle. Once out in the open road, I could clearly see that the group of warthogs was made up of a mother and father with their six incredibly adorable piglets. The warthog adults were leading the way across the main road in a very casual manner, either believing they own the place or they have done it many times. All the vehicles coming down the road from both sides stopped to give the warthog family some space to cross the road. Just like me, many people stopped and started filming this rarely seen occasion. It put a smile on everybody’s faces and it was surely a unique and hilarious experience at the same time. The warthog family casually continued feeding into the piece of bush located across the road.

The leopard is one of the most difficult wild animals to find in the African bush. Finding this elusive, solitary big cat in the wild is a truly remarkable experience on its own. Getting to see two leopards together, a mother and cub, was just a priceless experience. I managed to capture a few quick and adorable moments of love, care and playfulness between the female leopard and her cute cub. It was early morning on a safari in the Kruger National Park when we got word of a female leopard that was spotted in a nearby area. Just knowing that a leopard has been spotted in the area you traverse already gets people excited. Tracking down a leopard in the dense and vast bush can be a challenging task. After checking through the whole area thoroughly, we were finally lucky enough to spot the tracks of a female leopard that was walking down the gravel road. The search for the leopardess became even more exciting when we spotted another pair of much smaller tracks. It was clear that this female had a cub with her. With master tracking skills from our professional tracking team, they managed to locate the leopardess and her cub in a dry riverbed after another hour of searching. We were notified of the location and made our way there immediately. On our arrival we were absolutely stunned by the sight of the leopardess and her tiny cub, playing and cuddling around with each other in the sand. We kept our distance and enjoyed the brief visual of these two leopards. The leopard cub seemed extremely playful while running and jumping on his mother, nibbling her ears and lying down next to its mother to be cuddled and carefully licked clean. The mother leopard showed so much love and compassion for her little cub which was really heart-warming to watch. The mother leopard eventually got up and it was time to go. The cub remained playful by running after its mother while attempting to catch her tail. The two leopards slowly moved out of the riverbed and disappeared into the thick bush. We left the two leopards in peace and carried on with our safari. It was just incredible to see such a bond of love between a mother and her cub and we left feeling totally overwhelmed by the whole experience.

It was during a recent safari in the Kruger National Park that I managed to film a big elephant bull letting his inner child out for a moment, hilariously sitting down before adamantly scratching his back side, looking rather awkward. Having lived and worked among the wildlife of Africa for many years, elephants are still by far my favourite animals in the African wild. Being in the presence of the world’s largest land mammal is already an incredible experience on its own. Elephants are almost always active and busy doing something. Watching these giants going about their many activities is just fascinating, with many encounters turning out to be a very entertaining. While baby elephants are adorable and by far the most playful and entertaining members of an elephant herd to watch, there are a few unexpected occasions when the adult members of the herd can surprise you with their child like behaviour. When I came across a herd of elephants standing around a mud wallow, I decided to switch off my vehicle and spend some time watching these giants going about their business. It was an extremely hot morning in the bush and the elephants were splashing themselves with mud in order to cool themselves down. Baby elephants and sub adult elephants would many a time go lie down or even role around in the mud, as getting back onto their feet is also a lot easier. I suddenly noticed a large elephant bull kneeling down onto his back knee before sitting down flat on his back side. To me this looked awkward and hilarious at the same time as you just don’t see big elephants sitting down like a dog. This bull elephant had only one mission in mind and that was to adamantly scratch a serious itch that was just too hard to reach in any other way. The bull elephant was adamant to get rid of his itch and he was moving back and forth on the slippery mud, looking really funny. After enjoying a good scratch in the mud, the bull elephant got back onto his feet without any real difficulty. Seeing such a large elephant sitting down made me think of the trained circus elephants from an era gone by. This elephant bull clearly does not need any trainer or circus to behave in such an entertaining manner. We left the herd to continue with their muddy business while we continued with our safari.

Baby elephants are just plain adorable and always a huge favourite among safari goers. This video is a great example of just exactly why, showing how a male baby elephant finds it difficult to get back onto his feet without any real interference. It was early morning in the Kruger National Park and we headed out on our morning safari. At first there were not many animals to see but as the morning progressed, wildlife sightings became more active. Halfway through our morning safari we were surprised by a large herd of elephants standing next to the road busy feeding. It was breeding herd made up of many female relatives and their young. There were a good number of baby elephants also in the herd and we decided to spend some time watching the herd with all the focus mostly on the baby elephants. Everybody was amazed by just how cute the largest land mammal on earth in baby form can be. During the first part of their lives, baby elephants have an incredible number of abilities and skills to learn in order to survive in the African wild. While it can take a baby elephant up to three years to use its trunk to its full potential, walking and standing on their own two feet can also be a challenge as shown in this video. All our attention moved to one specific baby elephant that was lying on its own in front of us in the road. For no particular reason, this baby elephant decided to go lie down on its side right on the edge of the road. We couldn’t really understand the reason for this behaviour but it looked hilarious and so adorable. It looked like the baby elephant was just enjoying lying in the dirt. Once it had enough of playing in the dirt, the baby elephant decided it was time to get back onto its legs. This effort turned out to be more complicated than anticipated by us and the baby elephant. In the attempt to stand up, the baby elephant stepped backwards, stumbling on the edge of the road before falling down onto its knees. We felt sorry for the baby elephant but at the same time we could not help but to laugh at the comical and clumsy display. While sitting on its knees on the ground, the baby elephant made another awkward looking attempt and finally got back onto his feet. The baby elephant looked a little confused, first smelling the soil before giving a few funny looking steps backwards. With a flick of the trunk, the baby elephant turned around and finally started walking properly back to the rest of the herd. It was so amazing to see how a baby elephant on its own, without any other interference, can be so entertaining to watch. We left with big smiles on our faces.

While enjoying a drink in a local bar, we were totally surprised by the sight of a donkey walking into the bar as if it owned the place. Immediately one of the many ‘donkey in the bar’ jokes came to mind. The only difference here was that there were no jokes to be told, only smiles and laughter, amazed by the real deal playing off in front of us. It was hilarious to see how casual this donkey went about his business in the bar. It was during our last road trip, just before the national lockdown was enforced in South Africa, that we decided to stop at a sports bar located next to a main road, on our way to the Kruger National Park. The sports bar was located on a farm, making for a relaxing environment in nature. We settled down and ordered a drink and lunch. It was not long before we were stunned by the appearance of a donkey. The donkey casually walked in as if it owned the place. It was hilarious to see the donkey stopping next to a counter in the bar and starting to scratch its neck and head against it. None of the people that worked there seemed to be bothered by the donkey just strolling into the pub. Outside the bar were another three donkeys standing. One donkey was braying loudly from the outside, adding to the bizarre atmosphere we experienced in this sports pub. After a good scratch against the counter, the donkey rested his head on the counter for some time, looking very relaxed with its actions in the middle of the public space. After resting his head on the counter, the donkey slowly strolled out again to meet up with the other donkeys. This was definitely one of our most bizarre and funny experiences in a long time. The quick lunch-stop definitely turned out to be a memorable experience for obvious reasons.

Finding a leopard in the wild while on a safari is always a special occasion. Finding a leopard mother and her cub in the wild is a priceless, once in a lifetime, experience. I recently had the rare opportunity to film the adorable moments of a playful leopard cub, totally amused by its mother’s tail. The leopard is one of the most elusive animals in the African bush. This shy and solitary big cat is part of the so called Big five animals in Africa that also includes lion, buffalo, rhino and elephant. The leopard is by far the most difficult to find and see. The leopard relies on its camouflage and stealth to bring down prey that can range from mice to large antelope species. It was during a recent safari in the Kruger National Park that we were lucky enough to come across a female leopard, lying alone in the sand of a dry riverbed. We were absolutely ecstatic with our find. We all whipped out our cameras and started filming and taking pictures. It was not long before we were absolutely exhilarated by the fact that the female leopard had the most adorable cub. Out of nowhere, the cute leopard cub appeared. The appearance of the cub took us all by surprise and we couldn’t believe that we were actually sitting with two leopards in front of us. Leopards are solitary predators and do not like to be seen. If you are lucky enough to find a leopard in the wild, it will always be alone. Only under rare circumstances will you get to see more than one leopard together such as this one with the mother and her cub and when a male and female meet up to mate. The moments that followed between this leopard cub and its mother was filled with playfulness and motherly love. When the leopard cub appeared from the bush, it was immediately interested in its mother’s tail. It was so cute to watch how the cub’s hunting instincts was triggered by its mother’s moving tail. Every time the female leopard would move her tail, the cub would playfully paw at her tail while trying to grab it. This playful behaviour continued for a while until the cub became bored with its mother’s tail. The leopard cub decided it was time to snuggle up against its mother before falling asleep. We decided that we would not overstay our welcome and left the two leopards in peace.

Finding baby animals on a safari in the African wild is always a special experience. During a recent safari in the Kruger National Park, I managed to capture this heartwarming moment between a baby elephant and its mother. It was early morning in the African bush. We headed out on our safari just before sunrise and it was not long before we came across a large breeding herd of elephants, slowly feeding alongside the road. The large breeding herd was made up of mostly female elephants that are all related. There were also many sub adults and baby elephants in the herd. To see the largest mammal on the planet in baby form is just adorable. We decided to switch off the vehicle and spend some time watching the herd and the many baby elephants. One particular baby elephant caught my attention and I focused my camera onto the little one, looking less than three weeks old. During their first three weeks of life, baby elephants are still very unstable on their feet. Keeping up with the herd while making their way over the rough and uneven terrain of the African bush is one of the many great challenges a baby elephant faces at the beginning of its life. The video shows how the month-old baby elephant suddenly stumbles over a small bush before falling flat on its side. The unexpected fall left the baby elephant looking totally confused with what just happened. The mother elephant was there immediately with her trunk to support her baby. The baby elephant was lying on top of the small bush and was struggling to get back up onto its feet. Like a true toddler, the baby elephant suddenly uttered two loud screams, throwing a quick little tantrum, looking for immediate attention and assistance. The mother elephant immediately responded by using her foot and her trunk to get her screaming baby back onto its feet. The baby elephant managed to stay on its feet, while still looking a little uneasy. The baby elephant proceeded to drink on its mother. It was not long before the whole herd of elephants disappeared into thicker bush. Everybody on the safari vehicle had a big smile on their faces and this sighting was by far the biggest highlight of the day. We were overwhelmed by the cuteness of this baby elephant and to see how caringly the mother elephant responded to her screaming baby.

Baby animals will always have a soft spot in most people’s hearts. Seeing baby animals in the African wild is always a special occasion. It was during a safari in the Kruger National Park that this adorable moment between a lion cub and his father was captured. It was like watching a possible real-life scene from the Lion King movie with Simba jumping on top of Mufasa, looking for attention. We recently had incredible luck on our side during a safari when we came across a large pride of lions resting in the shade. Lions are big sleepers and they can easily spend twenty hours of the day just sleeping, resting and doing absolutely nothing. Part of the pride were three adorable cubs, clearly not looking to go to rest any time soon. While the adults were sleeping, the cute lion cubs had other plans of their own. I remembered as a child the trouble I got into for making a noise while my parents were trying to take their afternoon nap. One male lion cub, who clearly had all the courage in the world or couldn’t care less, decided it was time to go and seek some attention from his father, a big male lion sleeping a short distance away from the rest of the pride. The lion cub carefully approached the King of the Jungle, making us wonder how this whole ordeal was going to turn out. What happened next totally amazed us. The lion cub unexpectedly decided to climb on top of his father, curiously investigating his impressive mane. Still there was not a single response coming from the big male lion. The lion cub sat on top his father, looking very comfortable, thinking of what else he can do to get his father’s attention. The cub decided to get down from his father and thought that cuddling with his father would do the trick. Even after placing his paw on his father’s face, licking him a few times again after, the lion cub realized that he was not going to receive any sort of attention. The cub turned around and started planning his next move while checking to see what was happening with the rest of the pride members. At that very moment the big lazy male lion slowly turned onto his back and continued snoozing with his feet up in the air, acting as if nothing happened. The cub was already so fixated on his new mission that he totally ignored his father and went back to play with the other two cubs. Even though the male lion did not show any sort of response while his son looked for attention, we were amazed by the unconditional patience and acceptance the male lion showed towards his son. With a paw the size of the cub’s head, the father could easily have sent his son flying in annoyance which has happened before. In our opinion this was a sign of true fatherly love as we all knew the big male lion wasn’t really fast asleep all that time and he was well aware of what was going on the whole time.

Watching any form of life being born into this world is a miracle experience. During a recent safari in the Kruger National Park, I had the rare and special opportunity to witness the very first heartwarming moments of life for a newborn impala lamb in the wild. The adorable attempts of the newborn lamb to take its first steps while learning to walk was just remarkable to watch. Impalas are by far the most prevalent antelope species in the Kruger national Park and that is partly due to their breeding strategy. Even though the impala antelope is the most common prey for most large predators, the birthing strategy of the impala antelope species ensures a relatively large proportion of them go on to survive to adulthood. Impalas combat the pressure from predators by essentially flooding the ecosystem with young that are simply too many for predators to catch them all. At end of November and the beginning December, which is the start of the summer rains, almost ninety percent of all impalas will be born at the same time during a three-to-four-week period. More than half the new population will have enough time to grow strong enough and streetwise enough to evade predators. Even though thousands of impala lambs are born during this period, it is incredibly difficult to witness the birth of or the first moments of life for an impala lamb in the wild. It was during a cool morning while on safari that we came across the remarkable experience shown in the video. While watching a herd of female impala, I suddenly noticed a female that was standing separate from the herd in the distance. The female constantly had her head down and looked intensely occupied by something. I changed the position of the vehicle to get a better look of what was going on. We were absolutely stunned when we saw a newborn baby impala lying on the ground. It was still wet and must have been born literally a few seconds before our arrival. I decided to capture this rarely seen moment. The newborn impala was lying on the ground, looking helpless at first. Being preyed upon by almost every big predator, impalas evolved into being born with their eyes open and are miraculously able to stand, then walk and later on run on their new wobbly legs, all in a matter of twenty minutes. Watching this newborn lamb learning to get up and walk on its new legs was one of the most heart-warming experiences I have seen in the African bush in a long time. During this time the mother can be seen eating the remains of the placenta. Consuming the afterbirth immediately after giving birth is another example of anti predator behaviour shown by the impala, eradicating the scent of their newborn, protecting them against predators. The baby impala struggled for a good ten minutes to get standing on its feet, looking clumsy while falling over a number of times. After one last attempt, the baby impala just managed to hold its balance, standing still while swaying from side to side. After fifteen minutes the transformation was unbelievable. The lamb went from being totally helpless and vulnerable to standing, then walking and eventually running. The running still remained wobbly but at least the lamb was up and going. The impala mother continued licking her newborn, cleaning its skin from the last remains of the afterbirth. The baby impala’s condition improved by the minute and in as little as twenty minutes, the youngster was bouncing around, staying close to mommy while exploring its direct new environment and the art of running. The time spend with this mother and her newborn was incredible and we left them in peace, knowing that the lamb already has a great advantage of survival by being able to run around with its mother. Mother Nature just never cease to amuse.

It was straight after the travel restrictions were lifted in South Africa that we decided to go on a two-week break to a remote wilderness reserve, located on the Zambezi River in Zambia. It was a five-day journey to our destination. We were looking forward to a week of wild camping among the wildlife of Zambia which was always going to be a thrilling experience. And so, it turned out to be. Camping in an unfenced area anywhere in the African wild is a thrilling experience but at the same time, while on holiday, you can never let your guard down a hundred percent. While relaxing, one has to stay vigilant at the same time. It was a soon as day two of our camping expedition that we got reminded how dangerous wild animals can be, large elephant bulls in specific. While enjoying a late morning brunch at our campsite, I suddenly heard loud metal banging noises coming from the one side of the camp terrain. The noises continued and I decided to go and investigate. In the distance I saw a few local staff members gathered near the entrance of the camp terrain. I couldn’t believe what I saw and pulled out my phone to start filming. The metal noises I’ve heard was made by a massive elephant bull that was busy on a rampage, destroying another holidaymaker’s vehicle trailer. The elephant looked like it had serious issues with the white trailer. When I arrived, the trailer was already badly beaten up but the destruction continued. The big bull elephant would trample on the trailer, throw it over, trample it again and throw it over again like it was a piece of lightweight plastic. The local staff made an attempt at clapping their hands at the irate elephant bull, but to no avail. The elephant couldn’t care less and continued bashing up the trailer. Only until the very end, the reason for the elephant bull’s behaviour became all too apparent when he opened the front compartment of the trailer and shoved something into his mouth. This elephant bull was not so much angry with the trailer itself, but was adamantly after a bag of maize meal that was stashed in the front compartment of the trailer. The elephant clearly smelled the maize meal inside the trailer and made every effort to get to it. The owner of the trailer was out on safari for the day and we couldn’t do much more either but to watch the elephant bull gobble up the bags of maze meal. The trailer was also a total write off of course.

It was just after sunrise when we left our camp to go on a safari in the Kruger National Park. The first hour of the day is known by many as the ‘golden hour’, where the soft golden light creates perfect conditions for photographing and filming wildlife. It was during this time that I managed to film two male zebras, locked in combat. The biting and kicking added to the drama while the golden light and dust made for a spectacular setting overall. The first place we went to check after departure was a nearby watering hole. Many species of wildlife make use of the early hours of the morning to get their daily fill of water before the relentless heat takes over the rest of the day. On our arrival there were some buffalo near the water and a small herd of zebra more to the back of the buffalo. It was during the peak of the dry season and the landscape was barren and very dusty. We decided to spent some time at this watering hole, watching the animals coming to the water. While scanning the vast and open landscape, I suddenly noticed clouds of dust appearing from behind the nearby buffalo. I noticed that there were some erratic movements coming from the small herd of zebra standing in the distance. Two zebras in particular were rising up and down while bumping against each other. I quickly realized that it was two males starting a fight with each other. These fights usually do not last long as young males like to practice their fighting skills in short bursts of play. Fights only get serious when an interloper attempts to abduct a father’s daughter. It was soon clear that this was no play fight and the fight continued. I started filming and the video shows a part of the intense battle in the golden light filled with dust. Zebra fights consist mainly of biting and wrestling, rarely flailing with the fore feet and only occasional kicking with the back feet, the most dangerous form of combat. The two male zebras started with rearing, jostling and neck-wrestling. The fight became more serious when they dropped to the ground, then circling on their knees. This happens when an opponent seeks a grip to bite on the opponents fore or hindleg. The two zebras then quickly jumped back onto their feet and with lightning speed, the one male zebra lashed out with his back feet, hitting his opponent right under the very tip of his jaw. A kick like that hitting the head of an opponent can be fatal. The zebra that was on the receiving end of the kick was very lucky but it looked like the lightning-fast powerful kick was hurting enough for him to give up, shaking his head while looking a little disorientated. The losing zebra slowly disappeared after the incident. I was grateful for waking up early and having the opportunity to see such an unexpected event during the golden hour of the morning in the African bush.