EmotionsofAfrica

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

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

The video shows how a large elephant bull uses his incredible strength to push over a massive tree in the African wild. The elephant is the world’s largest land mammal roaming the African wild and with that size comes incredible strength and power. Elephants are herbivores and they have a legion of ways getting to the food that they want during the different seasons of the year. Using their trunks and tusks as tools, elephants can strip down leaves, branches and bark from their favorite trees or dig up roots and bulbs with their feet. During summer months, elephants will also feed on grass, flowers, fruits, and berries. When food is scarce during the dry periods, elephants become more destructive in a way as they must become more creative in their ways of finding food. One way of finding food in the dry season is to push over bushes and trees, looking to get to the roots or the top of trees where the last remaining leaves are. The video shows how one huge elephant bull decided that one large lone standing tree was just the perfect source for one of his meals. It is incredible to watch how this elephant bull uses the bottom of his trunk and tusks to push over the huge tree slowly but surely. The elephant bull would give the tree a big shove forward before it bounces back again. The elephant would repeat the process, having the tree swaying forwards and backwards, while making progress with each push. With each push from the elephant, one can see how the whole root system of the tree becomes lose, popping out of the ground. After a few incredibly powerful shoves and pushes, the elephant bull amazingly managed to uproot the whole tree as it goes crashing down to the ground. Having the tree lying horizontal, the elephant now has easy access to all the leaves at the top of the tree and all the roots and the bottom of the tree. Consuming everything the whole tree has to offer can keep an elephant busy for a couple of days, meaning the big old elephant bull does not really have to struggle for food or walk long distances to find his food. It’s all there in front of him lying down on the ground, making for easy consumption.

The video shows how a cheeky elephant believes it can intimidate a lone buffalo bull but quickly learns it was a bad idea. Elephants are the largest land mammals on the planet, and they do carry that attitude with them, even the younger ones. There are occasions where the younger elephants still have to learn that they just can’t dominate or intimidate every other animal they see. The elephant herd in the video was moving through the bush when they came across a lone buffalo bull, grazing peacefully and minding his own business. The next moment, one cheeky sub adult elephant in the herd decided it was time to show the lone buffalo who rules the African bush and made an attempt to intimidate the lone buffalo bull with a mock charge and flapping ears. That was a big mistake, and the cheeky elephant quickly learned it was not a good move. The buffalo bull did not tolerate the attitude of the cheeky youngster and came charging towards it. The young elephant got the fright of its life and quickly retreated back to the adults with screaming and trumpeting noises. This was so funny to watch. When all the adult elephants gathered together to protect the youngster, the buffalo bull realized he was outnumbered and quickly retreated. The young elephant learned an important life lesson on the day. Rather go pick on those your own size or just don’t at all.

The mother rhino in this video decided to show us how the perfect pout is done in front of the camera. The white rhinoceros is one of Africa’s most incredible beasts, and forms part of the very popular big five group of animals. Once in abundance a long time ago, these animals only roam a small part of the continent at present. Just like the black rhinoceros, the white rhino has been under severe pressure, being poached for their horns, making them highly vulnerable as a species. These animals are now extinct in most countries in Africa and only found in protective areas such as reserves and national parks in Southern Africa where they roam free in the wild. Going on a safari in Africa and seeing one of these incredible animals is a huge highlight. Their rarity and dinosaur-like looks always leaves safari goers in awe. While leading a safari in the Kruger National Park we were lucky to come across a large white rhino cow and her calf. The mother rhino and her calf just finished wallowing in the mud after which they walked up to a large fallen tree. The mother rhino found the tree trunk to be the perfect place to start scratching her large wide lips. This took us by surprise as rhinos normally scratch the sides and back of their bodies against a hard surface. This lip scratching was a first for us to see. The upper lip of this female rhino was huge and clearly very itchy. I started filming the mother rhino scratching while her calf stood close to her, wondering what to do with itself. It was as if the mother rhino noticed me filming her when she paused with her scratching to show off her perfect pout for the camera. That was so cool and funny to see the rhino cow showing everyone how the perfect pout should look like. After a few seconds of pouting for the camera, the mother rhino continued scratching that incredibly large upper lip of hers. In all my many years of leading safaris, this was the first time ever that I saw any animal pouting for the camera, and this mother rhino did it in style. She definitely had the lips for it, enough to make all the pouters out there a little jealous.

The video shows a herd of elephants, desperately trying in every way and mean to rescue a baby elephant stuck in a muddy wallow. Not only are elephants the largest land mammals on this planet, they are also some of the most intelligent animals in the world. Elephants have complex and deep social structures that exist between herd members, who are all related. Elephants in family herds are always there to care for, help and protect each other in incredible ways. The video shows one of those incredible times in the African wild when a herd of elephants had to work together to rescue a baby elephant from a deep and slippery mud wallow. The baby elephant was enjoying a mud wallowing session with its family. The elephant herd all managed to get out the wallow easily after their cooling down session. One baby elephant remained behind, having a real tough time getting out. With the herd already moving on, the mother elephant realised that her baby was not going to get out by itself. The elephant herd came rushing back with loud trumpeting noises, signalling a stressful situation. While the herd gathered around, some individuals attempted to pull out the baby elephant by using their trunks. After several failed attempts, it almost looked like many of the herd members gave up and moved away, leaving the mother on her own. Incredible to see, the mother walked backwards towards the wallow and push out her hind leg towards the wallow, hoping that her struggling baby might just be able to grab onto her leg so she could pull it out in that manner. There was just no way the baby was even able to reach the back leg of its mother and the little elephant remained stuck. After the mother’s failed attempts, the herd quickly returned, sounding even more distressed. A few individuals tried again to pull out the baby using their trunks but still couldn’t succeed. After many different tactics of rescue did not work, one elephant decided to take another approach and get into the wallow itself. Soon others joined and with incredible teamwork, the elephants finally managed to push the baby from behind, up the slippery bank until it was safely back on dry ground. Incredible teamwork, dedication and smart thinking was shown by the elephants to save their youngest member of the herd. It turned out to be a happy ending for all and the elephant herd quickly moved on back into the bush.

The video shows two male lions, getting a big surprise when they attempt to catch a lone buffalo bull. Lions are the top predators in the African wild and live at the top of the food chain. Lions are also the biggest cats in Africa, needing reasonable sized prey to hunt and feed on. Hunting small prey is not worth all the energy for a lion, so they always focus on the bigger animals such as buffalo, elephant, and giraffe. Hunting big prey animals is a big reward for a hungry pride of lions, but hunting these larger animals also come with huge risks. Animals such as elephants and buffalo are not easy to take down and they can inflict serious injuries to lions, especially the buffalo with its dangerous horns. Many a lion has been killed or stampeded to death by these animals. Lions are on average only forty percent of the time successful in their hunting attempts, with so many things that go wrong for lions during the other sixty percent of the time. The two male lions shown in this video was stalking a lone buffalo bull which was lying down in a mud wallow. The one male lion sneaked up from behind with the buffalo unaware of what was coming. The male lion slowly laid his paw on the buffalo, as if to check if it was alive. The buffalo bull was very alive indeed and like lightning, jumped up and around, back onto his feet, ready and alert. The lions got a huge fright. The buffalo then charged at the nearest male lion at full speed. The other male lion ran far off while the buffalo charged after the remaining lion. Everything came to a standstill, the animals taking a breath and all staring at each other from a distance. This staring continued for a while before the lions eventually gave up and moved on. Incredible how this buffalo bull survived this ordeal by just his sheer ferocity and ultimate will no to die on that day.

The video shows a scuffle that took place between two male lions in the African wild, both interested in the same female. As in the human world, so in the natural world, when two males are both seriously interested in the same female, things can get tricky and sometimes messy. Males fighting over females can take on many forms, but when you are a lion, it is all out aggression that involve teeth and claws and some loud growling and snarling. There is no negotiation involved or holding back. While on safari in the Kruger National Park, we came across a pride of lions nearby a watering hole. Some of the pride members were already walking away from the water while one male was lying down some distance away, staring at another male lion attempting to impress a female. It was clear that the male lion really wanted to be close to the female and not let her out of his sight. Looking at the reaction of the lioness, she was not interested in the clingy male lion. While the male lion tried to stay close to the female the whole time, the female was making plans on how to ditch this guy. The lioness tricked the male into thinking she was going to lie down, only to jump up again, taking her gap to run away. While this was happening, the one male staring down from the distance, decided this was his opportunity and ran after the fleeing lioness. The dominant male was having none of that and intercepted the incoming male before he could get to the female. It all exploded into a cloud of dust, with teeth and claws flying combined with loud growling and snarling noises. This totally took me by surprise and was stunned by all the action in front of me, even though it all happened very quickly. The fight was short but intense before the one male decided he had to get out of there and ran off with the dominant male right after him. I lost sight of them as they ran off and disappeared into the thickets, not to be seen again. It was incredible to see such behaviour and power from Africa’s biggest cat out in the wild.

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

The video shows the funny moments of a cute male baby elephant attempting to show safari goers how scary he can be. When a fully grown elephant, weighing up to five tonnes, comes charging towards you with ears flapping and trunk swinging, it is time to get out of there as quickly as possible. When baby elephants attempt to imitate the behaviour of the adult elephants, it can be hilarious to watch. While on safari in the Kruger National Park, we came across a large herd of elephants which included a number of young individuals. As the adults moved on, this adorable baby elephant seen in the video, moved away from the herd and decided it was time to test his intimidation skills. Because elephants are the largest land mammals on this planet, they do tend to have the attitude that they can intimidate all other animals in the African wild, as well as safari vehicles filled with tourists. This male baby elephant tried his absolute best to be scary and intimidating. With flapping ears and a swinging trunk, the baby elephant made several mock charges towards the safari vehicle. At one stage the baby elephant even got onto his back legs in an attempt to look bigger and more intimidating. The safari goers on the vehicle found this very funny and amusing to watch.

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

The video shows how an elephant bull can suddenly become grumpy and come charging towards a vehicle in a matter of seconds. Elephants, especially the older males, can be extremely dangerous animals if they want to or need to be. When going on a self drive safari in any of the National Parks or reserves in Africa, you have to be vigilant and prepared for anything to happen when viewing elephants, especially older and larger males. Like shown in this video, things can change in an instant and without any warning. I have viewed lots of elephants in my life as a nature guide out on safari over the years, while continuously studying their behaviour. There are a few very crucial basics you learn from the beginning. First golden rule is to keep a safe distance and not getting too close, no matter how chilled they might look at any given moment. Secondly, you have to be aware and prepared that their behaviour can change in a flash for no particular reason. Elephant bulls, weighing up to five tonnes, can reach speeds of up to 40km/h, within seconds. If you can’t get away fast enough, things can end very badly. Luckily on this day I was awake. I kept my distance and when I noticed the elephant stopped feeding, something told me this old bull became grumpy and started my vehicle and moved the gear into reverse. Without warning and in a split second, the bull elephant came charging towards me, putting my reverse skills at a high speed to the test. After the brief but very scary and intimidating charge, the bull elephant made his point and stopped. That was also where I decided to turn around and leave him in peace, showing him respect and that I understood his warning. If you hang around after a charge like that, you can be sure he will come again.

The video shows how an adorable baby elephant finds it very amusing to keep slapping the water with its floppy little trunk. Baby elephants are one of the cutest animals you can view while on an African safari. Baby elephants can be clumsy and very playful, making for entertaining viewing most of the time. During their first few years, baby elephants are still learning all the life skills needed to survive in the African wild. The use of their trunk is one of the more complex skills a baby elephant needs to learn, and it can take up to a year for a baby elephant to have full control over its own trunk and be able to use it for all its purposes such as feeding and drinking water. During their first year of life, baby elephants will learn how to use their trunks, but in between they will also play a lot with their trunks, still fascinated, and amused by the weird thing hanging on from their face. While watching a herd of elephants, I spotted one such baby elephant, walking into a muddy wallow, repeatedly slapping the water with its trunk. I didn’t imagine that the baby elephant’s amusement with slapping the water will last that long. The baby elephant hilariously just kept on slapping the water for an extensive period almost nonstop, while having the time of its life. Eventually the baby elephant was done playing with its trunk and it was time to cool down in the muddy water before running out again, back to mommy. What an entertaining moment it was to watch such a cute little creature having fun in the wild.

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

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

The video shows a baby elephant slowly moving through thick mud before wiping out, taking a nose or trunk dive straight down into the mud. Watching any baby elephant going about their business in the African wild is mostly an amusing sight. While still a little clumsy, like any child in their first few years, baby elephants have to navigate through all the challenges that living in the wild can bring. While on safari we watched a herd of elephants crossing through a muddy river. While the adults of course found it easy to march through the thick mud, it was a little more challenging for the younger elephants. The baby elephant in the video was treading slowly, one foot at a time. The mother elephant even stopped and looked back to see if her baby was doing all right. Just as the baby elephant looked like getting to the end of the mud, it slipped and smack, face and trunk first, straight down into the mud. Another adult female elephant came past to lend a little support to the clumsy baby elephant, lying face down in the mud. Slowly but surely the baby elephant managed to get back onto its feet and finally got out of the thick mud, making its way straight to its mother. While it was funny at the moment to watch the clumsiness of the baby elephant, we couldn’t help to feel a little sorry for it at the same time. All was well in the end, knowing we witnessed one of the many challenges a baby elephant would have to face while growing up in the wild.