EmotionsofAfrica

The video shows the scary moments when a lioness unexpectedly took a keen interest in a vehicle with two tourists inside. Going on a self-drive safari to one of the many National Parks across Africa is always a great adventure and top of the list for most foreign tourists visiting the continent. While enjoying the freedom of exploring and searching for animals from the comfort of your own vehicle, tourists are always warned about being vigilant when it comes to wild animals. While the inside of your vehicle is the safest place to be, and getting out is forbidden, there might just be the rare occasion that something from the outside wants to get inside, like a lioness in the wild. Lions will almost always ignore vehicles, as they do not pose a threat and they don’t see it as food. The video shows one of those rare and unexpected moments when a lioness did not just ignore a tourist vehicle as they normally do. Scary enough, this lioness took a keen interest in the vehicle and its occupants. This behavior can be very dangerous as the lioness even tried to open the door with her paw and scratching at the window, seeing the people on the inside. Luckily the driver closed the window quick enough, as the lioness easily could have put her paw through the opening which could be devastating. The couple in the car kept calm while the lioness continued to curiously investigate their vehicle. After a few more sniffs, the lioness luckily lost interest and moved on, leaving two people with a close and very tense lion encounter in the African wild.

The video shows a baby elephant loving its facial scrub in the mud. While we as humans go to a spa to treat and pamper our bodies and skins, wild animals in the African wild have developed their own ways of enjoying a spa, looking after their own bodies and skins. One animal that certainly enjoys a good African ‘bush spa’ is the elephant. Spending every day of their lives on the move through the African savanna, elephants attract all kinds of parasites and ticks, eventually leaving them with an itchy skin and body. As a remedy, elephants have learned that a good mud bath and a scratch against a hard surface afterwards help them to get rid of all those pesty ticks and parasites. During a safari we came across this baby elephant that clearly had to deal with a great itch on its face. While watching a herd of elephants enjoying splashing themselves with mud, I noticed one baby elephant standing with its back side up in the air. The baby elephant hilariously had its face in the mud, and it looked like it was really enjoying standing in such an awkward position with its face in the mud. The baby elephant looked like it was ploughing through the mud with its face and mouth. The baby elephant clearly had an itch it could not scratch as its was moving its face up and down through the mud. It looked so funny and there were even pieces of mud stuck on its trunk and face. It looked like the baby elephant was loving its facial scrub in the mud, creating its own ‘spa’ experience right there in the African wild. The baby elephant eventually got up, and with a face full of mud, ran off to join its mother. The baby elephant looked satisfied while we were treated to a very funny baby elephant encounter out in the wild.

The video shows how a hippo manages to chase away close to a hundred buffalo with just a few shakes of the head. The African cape buffalo is one of the most dangerous big game animals that lives in the African wild. Buffalo are part of the well-known big five animal group, and they are also known as black death. Should you meet a buffalo on foot in the African wild, you most likely will have serious problems. While hippos do not make part of the big five group, they are known to kill more people in Africa than any other animal in the African wild, making them creatures not to be messed with. Big and dangerous species like buffalo and hippo usually leave each other alone and altercations between them are very rare. There are the rare instances, like shown in this video, where the two species meet by chance. On a hot summer day this big herd of buffalo decided it was a good idea to cool off in a waterhole. In the waterhole was a male hippo, amazingly tolerating all the visitors in his waterhole in which he spends most of his days. More and more buffalo started getting into the water, until the hippo was surrounded. It was like the buffalo didn’t even realize the hippo was in the water. The hippo remained very calm and tolerant of the buffalo herd entering his space, until one buffalo literally bumped into the hippo. That was just one too many for the hippo and suddenly the hippo’s head popped out. The hippo saw all the buffalo on top of him and he didn’t like it and looked angry. The hippo then lifted his head out the water and shook it about a few times, splashing the water aggressively. With that, the hippo got the attention of the buffalo. It was like a delayed fright kicking in and suddenly the whole buffalo herd stormed out of the water. It was incredible to see how quickly one hippo could get such a large herd moving. The hippo looked totally satisfied with his actions in the end.

The video shows the incredible escape move of a tiny gosling that was caught by a leopard in the African wild. Leopards are one of Africa’s big cats and the most elusive of them all. Finding a leopard in the African wild is a rare and incredible experience. The solitary big cats are very elusive and hard to find. While a group of safari tourists was lucky to find a young leopard in the wild, the sighting took a dramatic turn when suddenly, out of nowhere, a little gosling appeared, looking very lost. The gosling immediately grabbed the attention of the leopard. The confused gosling was clearly looking for its mother when it stumbled across the leopard relaxing in the sand of a dry riverbed. The gosling thought it was safe to hide under the safari vehicle but soon it was flushed out by the leopard after which the leopard easily chased after the little bird before catching it. The leopard didn’t kill the gosling immediately. It looked like the gosling was playing dead, which caught the leopard of guard. While the leopard was still thinking about its newly found snack, the gosling amazingly jumped up and ran off, leaving the leopard looking totally surprised by what just happened.

The video shows the incredible number and variety of African wildlife that came to drink at one waterhole over a ten-hour period in one single day. Going on safari during the peak of the dry season can be seriously dusty and extremely hot but so worth it when it comes to game viewing in Africa. On a trip to Zimbabwe, we visited a large national park during the hottest and driest period of the year. It was incredibly dry, with temperatures raging way over forty degrees Celsius every day. With all natural water sources dried up, it is up to the park to provide some water for the masses of wild animals living all over a vast wilderness landscape. These waterholes are few and far between, with animals having to travel huge distances just for a drink of water, only to walk huge distances again away from the water in search of food. During this time of the year, you can be sure that you will find wildlife at a watering hole, and lots of it. We decided to spend three full days in a lookout point or a hide overlooking a popular waterhole. You sit there, relax, and wait and observe, watching wild animals of all kinds coming and going from the morning, right through the night and into the morning again. The numbers of wild animals that visited the waterhole was mind blowing and the diversity of species made it even more incredible. I decided to film whatever wildlife came in to drink over a ten-hour period on one of the days I was there. It started off in the morning with a lioness casually walking past some elephants, busy having their fill of water for the day. The lioness didn’t even stop for a drink. Impala and kudu antelopes were the most abundant during the day, with many herds coming and going nonstop. There were a small number of buffalo that appeared while the warthog families came for a quick drink during the heat of the day. Zebras were seen during most of the day in some dazzling numbers. Elephants dominated everything and they were the species that were there in the largest of numbers, drinking the most water and more often than any other animals. There was even a large monitor lizard that made its way for some water. A great variety of birds was in and around the water right trough the day till sunset, creating beautiful nature sounds in the background. All I can say, what a privilege it was to have filmed and experienced such a natural spectacle as we did during our three days stay.

The video shows a playful baby elephant, suddenly falling into the road, then struggling to get back onto its feet in the most hilarious manner. Watching any baby elephant in the African wild will almost always bring a smile to your face. Whether they are just being cute, playful, or clumsy, baby elephants can amuse and entertain many safari goers in the African wild. The baby elephant in this video is no different and a classic example of how entertaining it can be to watch these incredible creatures. Like most other baby animals, elephant babies love to fool around and be playful. This baby elephant decided to go and sit right next to the road and enjoy a good scratch while the rest of the elephant herd continued moving along. It was not long before the baby elephant suddenly tumbled over, falling flat onto its side into the road in front of the safari vehicle. The baby elephant then attempted to get back up onto its feet, swinging its back legs wildly back and forth in the air, looking funny at the same time. What was even more unusual and a little funny to see is that all the other elephants just passed by the struggling baby without even stopping to help. Normally the mother or another adult would assist a baby elephant with such a struggle but not on this occasion. It was as if the other elephants knew the baby elephant was fooling around and that it would be fine to get back onto its feet by itself. After a while of kicking into the air, the baby elephant managed to get back into an upright position. The baby elephant had a quick last scratch before getting back onto its feet, then quickly running back into the bush to catch up with the rest of the herd. Incredible to see how funny and entertaining these animals can be when they are out in their natural environment, going about their daily business.

The video shows a big bull elephant casually sitting down on top of a restaurant table at a safari lodge in Zimbabwe. During a recent group safari to Zimbabwe, tourists were met with the rather unusual sight of an elephant using a table at a restaurant as rubbing post to scratch an itch. After a long morning safari, the group of safari tourists returned to their safari lodge to enjoy a late breakfast. It was a sunny day and they decided to sit outside at the tables on the lawns in front of the restaurant. Did they get a surprise of their lives. Before a seating area could be arranged for the tourist group, it was clear that a big elephant bull got there first. The elephant bull was already sitting down, but not on a chair but on the table. The elephant bull was clearly not there for breakfast but rather to get rid of an itch it could not scratch. You can clearly hear how the wooden table cracks under the weight of the elephant, but amazingly the table did not break completely. Once done scratching its backside on the table, the elephant got up, casually bashed away a few chairs in his way and slowly moved off again. After that spectacle, the tourists could finally sit down and enjoy their breakfast, still looking over their shoulders every now and then.

The video shows the bizarre looking sight of a baby elephant missing its trunk, miraculously living, and surviving in the African wild. Elephants are unique in every sense of the word. Elephants are not only massive and highly intelligent, but they are also built in a way that is not seen in any other animal on this planet. An elephant’s trunk is the most unique apparatus not shared by any other mammal. The trunk of an elephant is formed by the merging of the nose and the muscles of the upper lip. The trunk provides a sensitive organ which can be employed as an arm which helps with feeding, a straw for drinking and a nose for smelling and breathing. This makes the elephant’s trunk crucial for their survival. Seeing an elephant without a trunk never even crossed my mind until we recently spotted a baby elephant without a trunk during a safari in the African wild. While watching a herd of elephants, we spotted the very weird looking juvenile elephant. It was one of the most bizarre things I have ever seen. What makes it even more incredible was that this baby elephant was estimated at over two years old, and it clearly was looking like it was surviving without its crucially vital organ. We were totally amazed by what we saw and that the baby elephant still manages to survive. While smelling might not be a problem, I still can’t imagine how the baby elephant manages to drink or eat without its trunk. It is hard to tell when this baby elephant might have lost its trunk, but it looked like it has been without a trunk for some time already as there were no new or fresh wounds to be seen. While crocodiles sometimes do grab elephants by their trunks and bite it off, the more likely explanation was that the baby elephant most likely lost its trunk in a human set wire snare. The baby elephant probably got caught with its trunk in a wire snare and with all the adrenalin created by pain and fear, the baby elephant most probably ripped off its own trunk to free itself from the trap. Unfortunately, wire snares, set by poachers to catch antelope for illegal meat, doesn’t always catch the intended target animal. This baby elephant is a good example of the terrible destruction these wire snares can leave in the African wild. The baby elephant looked in no real discomfort and we left the herd, still in awe and wondering how this baby elephant manages to keep surviving. Hats off to the little fellow.

The video shows an adorable baby elephant in the African wild approaching a safari vehicle, then becoming totally fascinated by the large green object in front of it, all under the watchful eye of its mother. During the first few years in the life of a baby, human or animal, curiosity plays a big role, as they are constantly learning, smelling, and touching new things and objects. Baby elephants are no different and they are just adorable to watch out in the African wild while they go about learning everything that is around them in their direct environment. Even the safari vehicles that they might only see occasionally is something that will trigger their curiosity as seen in this video. While leading a safari in the Kruger National Park in South Africa, we came across a small herd of elephants standing next to the road. The herd was made up of female elephants with their young. I decided to switch off my vehicle and admire the herd with the adorable baby elephants being the main attraction. While sitting quietly watching the herd feeding next to us, one baby elephant casually walked right up to the front left part of the safari vehicle. The baby elephant’s mother was right behind, closely watching what her youngster was getting up to. The baby elephant looked totally fascinated by the vehicle as it stood at the left front for a long period of time. I wasn’t too sure what the baby elephant was doing against the vehicle in the front, but it looked very curious and stood there for a long while investigating the vehicle with the mother keeping a close eye from behind. It looked like the baby elephant was smelling the vehicle and checking out all the strange detail in the front. After a good five minutes or so, the baby elephant moved away from the vehicle and into the road in front of us. I thought the baby elephant lost interest after spending all that time at the vehicle, but I was wrong. It was not even a minute and the baby elephant turned back and came straight back to the front of the vehicle. This time it looked like the baby elephant wanted to show the vehicle who was boss, trying to look intimidating with its ears spread out wide. This was so cute and funny to watch. The baby elephant came right up to the vehicle for one more sniff before its mother decided that it was enough now, moving in between her baby and my vehicle. Once the baby elephant realised that playtime with the safari vehicle was over, it decided that the next best thing to do is to grab a sip of milk from its mother while she was standing there. It was not too long after that the whole herd decided it was time to go and disappeared back into the thick bush. One of the cutest things I have seen out in the African wild in a long time.

The video shows that the King of the jungle is not always perfect, coming short with a glorious fall down a riverbank. The male lion is known as the King of the jungle all around the world. The image of the mighty male lion is a symbol of power and strength. In the African wild this rings true as the lion is at the top of the food chain and feared by most animals. With this image in mind, it is easy to think that if a big male lion can bring down a giraffe or a buffalo, then getting out of a river onto the bank should be an easy task for the king. The video shows three big male lions crossing through the depths of a river that is in flood. Lions normally do not like swimming, but they will take on rivers like this to get to another part of their territories. Once the three lions managed to get to the other side and out the strong current of the river, it was time for just one last obstacle, getting up the steep riverbank. A task that seemed easier than swimming across the river. As the first male lion peaked his big mane over the edge, he almost got his whole body to the top when the soil under his back paws gave in, sending the big male lion back down to the bottom in spectacular fashion. Looking at the fall in slow-motion, it looks like the king of the jungle literally took a fall from glory.

The video shows an adorable newborn baby elephant still learning how to walk, stumbling around on its wobbly legs under the watchful eye of its mother. Baby elephants are adorable and most likely the most entertaining baby animals to watch while on an African safari. To see the largest land mammal on earth in baby form is just priceless. Newborn baby elephants are born into this world after a twenty-two-month gestation period. During their first week, newborn elephants must learn to walk. It is a time where baby elephants develop the muscles in their weak legs. This takes a lot of practice over and over, with a lot of falling and stumbling around while trying to walk with their wobbly legs. During a safari in the Kruger National Park, we found a herd of elephants and in the herd, there was this newborn calf shown in the video. It was the most adorable thing to watch, seeing how the baby elephant was swaying, looking off balance and falling over every now and again. The mother elephant was nearby her calf all the way and every time her baby would stumble and fall over, the caring mother elephant was there to help her baby back onto its feet. The baby elephant looked only a couple of days old, and it looked like the adorable baby still needed a few days to practice and exercise before it was going to be stable on its new legs. Definitely one of the cutest sightings in the wild we have seen in a long time.

The video shows a beautiful silhouette moment with giraffes, just after sunset, in the African bush. Together with zebras, giraffes are the most photographed animals in Africa. Every safari tourist rates these animals incredibly high, and they are a must-see on every safari. The giraffe is unique, like no other animal on this planet. They are fascinating and graceful creatures, making them one of Africa’s most iconic animals. With their tall necks and legs, giraffes elegantly roam the African savanna, and during sunset, these animals can make for some of the most beautiful scenes in nature. I recently had the opportunity to find a small number of giraffes right at sunset. With their tall figures against the beautiful colors of the sky at dusk, giraffes make for some of the most beautiful silhouette moments. Not every day do you find giraffes at the right time and place to get such footage. I didn’t hesitate and grabbed my camera to capture the moment. It was a peaceful early evening, with the sounds of the bushveld adding to a stunning moment in nature.

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 a miracle moment captured on film of an elephant cow giving birth to an adorable newborn calf in the African wild. The birth of any new life on this earth is always a miracle moment and very special. Seeing the largest and heaviest land mammal on our planet giving birth in the wild is a rare sight and an overwhelmingly heartwarming experience. The African elephant are highly social animals with a complex society that focuses on maintaining group cohesion and a strict discipline regime ensures social order. Herd life predominantly revolves around guarding, rearing, and teaching calves. Since it takes twenty-two months for a calf to be born, with a calving interval of four years, newborn baby elephants are investments that are not easily replaced. The video shows how the elephant herd all gathered with great excitement, witnessing the mother elephant giving life to a brand-new member of the herd. As soon as the newborn elephant dropped, all the elephants started screaming and trumpeting with great excitement. The mother elephant immediately gave the calf a kick onto drier ground and then quickly started to help her baby sit upright. Baby elephants will only be able to stand after a few hours. In the beginning it is just important for the mother to have the calf sitting upright while being surrounded and protected by the rest of the herd members. To witness such a miracle in the African wild is a rare and very special safari moment.

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 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.

Baby elephant slips and falls back into mud wallow The video shows the funny moment when a baby elephant loses its footing, falling back flat down into a mud wallow it was trying to get out of. Elephants just love the mud during those hot summer months in Africa. Nothing beats a good cool down session in the mud for any elephant. The purpose of the mud wallowing is to help elephants cool themselves down and getting rid of parasites on their skin at the same time. Many elephants just love to play around in the mud for much longer than the rest of the herd, especially the youngsters. Baby elephants gain all the benefits from the mud, plus it seems like they also get so much joy and pleasure out of playing in the mud. Watching baby elephants play in the mud is always highly entertaining. I was filming a herd of elephants that was busy around a mud wallow when I spotted one baby elephant typically having a blast in the mud. The baby elephant was already covered in mud from head to toe and looked adorable. It looked like the baby elephant eventually decided it was time to go but getting out of the wallow seemed like a very slippery task. It looked like the baby elephant’s feet was swept from under it and then splat, the baby elephant fell back into the wallow flat on its side. That was so funny to watch, and the baby elephant didn’t seem too bothered to be back in the mud. The baby elephant then slowly but surely got itself back up onto its feet. The baby elephant tried again to get out, but it looked like a vehicle spinning in one place before finally finding enough traction to get out of the wallow. It was incredible to see just how entertaining elephants can be when they are in the mud.

The video shows two playful baby elephants that decided to start wrestling each other in the middle of the road. Baby elephants are some of the cutest animals in the African wild. Baby elephants can be very playful at times, and this can be so funny to watch. While on a safari in the Kruger National Park, we came across two male baby elephants standing in the road, busy bumping each other around. Soon the action turned into a full blown playfight wrestling match right in the middle of the road. Like typical boys, the two baby elephants was jumping on each other and sitting and rolling over each other in a playful manner. It was so funny to watch, and everyone found the sight very entertaining. Soon an older brother elephant appeared to come and join in the fun. It looked like all three elephants had such an enjoyable time just pushing and shoving each other around just for fun, just like real children.

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 video shows a hilarious and very unusual moment in the African wild when a baboon casually jumped onto a baby elephant, then sitting down on its back like they have been old friends. There are times when nature can absolutely blow you away with some of the most random and unexpected encounters while out on safari in the African wild. It really becomes fascinating when two species of a different kind interact with each other in the most unlikely ways imaginable. Two species of wild animals that never interact or have anything to do with each other are baboons and elephants. These two species leave each other alone and do their own thing as there are no competition for food or territories between them. With all that in mind, it makes the interaction seen in this video very unusual and unexpected. While watching a herd of elephants feeding, there was a small troop of baboons that passed by. Suddenly one young baboon went up to a baby elephant in the herd and sat in front of the elephant, just staring at it. The baby elephant became a little confused and before we knew it, the baboon jumped right on top of the head of the baby elephant before it causally went and sat down on the back of the baby elephant. We had no idea what was going on or why the baboon was so keen to sit on the back of the elephant. It looked like the baboon closely inspected the skin of the elephant and nibbled out a small tick or parasite form its skin. While they looked like old friends, things quickly changed, and the baby elephant became annoyed with the primate on its back. With a few swings of the body, the baby elephant managed to let the baboon know its not welcome anymore. With a swift jump the playful baboon decided it was best to get off and leave the baby elephant in peace. Probably one of the most random sights in the African wild I have seen in a very long 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.

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.