EmotionsofAfrica

During a safari in Kruger National Park, we came across a small herd of elephants. They were slowly making their way through the shallow muddy water of a river crossing. The last elephant to cross was a young bull. In the middle of the crossing was a large bird standing. Young male elephants in their teen years are typically very cheeky and always ready to show off their size. Even if it means picking on something a hundred times smaller than you. The young bull was halfway through the river when he decided to stop next to the bird, called a grey heron, standing in the water minding its own business. The young male elephant gave the bird one look and without hesitation, used his trunk to splash the bird with water in an attempt to scare it away. Like a real teenage boy, the young male elephant wanted to show this bird who is boss. The cheeky elephant was swinging his trunk repeatedly in the direction of the bird in an attempt to intimidate it, while he let go of a few loud trumpets to add to his show. The best part of it all was the reaction of the bird during the whole interaction, not looking bothered at all by this laughable behavior. Amazingly the bird never showed any real fear, even though it was totally out sized by the testosterone driven young male elephant. The heron just kept moving away a short distance every time the elephant splashed water towards it. Eventually the elephant decided the message was clear and slowly continued through the muddy crossing. It was such a funny experience to watch this cheeky young male elephant going about picking on a bird that is a hundred times smaller than him. This was a great example of the typical behavior seen among male elephants in their teen years, feeling confident and ready to take on anything, something most teenage boys can relate to.

This heartwarming video shows the incredible efforts of an elephant mother desperately attempting to rescue her calf struggling to get out of a mud wallow. Not only are elephants the largest land mammals on this planet, they are also some of the most intelligent and fascinating mammals found in the animal kingdom. This video shows one of the many incredible moments of interaction that can exist among elephants who have a strong family bond. While leading a safari in the Kruger National Park, we came across a herd of elephants, enjoying a brief stop at a large mud wallow. It was hot and the elephants needed to cool themselves down by getting into the rather deep wallow and splash themselves with mud. When majority of the elephant herd got out the wallow and was ready to move on, my eye caught one baby elephant that was having a hard time getting out of the wallow. The mud wallow was just too deep for the little one to get out and it was a huge struggle. With the elephant herd moving on, the elephant mother and a younger sister became extremely concerned by the male baby elephant’s inability to get out of the wallow. The mother elephant immediately rushed to the rescue and by using her trunk, she made many unsuccessful attempts at first to get her baby out the deep and slippery wallow. It was quite intense watching the efforts of the mother elephant and everyone on the safari was very worried that the baby would not be able to get out. The incredible efforts of the elephant mother had us in awe. At one stage it looked like grabbing her calf by the tail became the best option. There were trumpeting, screaming and rumbling noises coming from the elephants, clearly signaling that they were in distress. Finally, to everybody’s relief, the mother elephant managed to get a good grip on her baby with her trunk and hoisted her calf to safety. Everybody on the safari felt a great sense of relief and applauded the heroic efforts of the mother. What an astonishing moment out in the African wild.

The video shows the hilarious moments of a playful baby rhino, having the time of its life, trying to intimidate a tourist vehicle with its cute little charges up and down. The rhinoceros is one of Arica’s most endangered animal species. Rhinos are also part of the well known big five animal group in Africa. To see such a special creature out in its natural environment is always a great and wonderful experience. Finding a mother rhino with her most adorable looking baby is just incredible and rarely seen. Like with elephants, baby rhinos are very playful and always full of energy. While learning new skills in life, these baby animals love exploring and experiencing new things, like this little rhino in the video. The baby rhino wandered away from its mother to have a closer look at the vehicle. Suddenly it turned around, ran away down the road, turned around again, and came charging straight towards the vehicle. The baby rhino would stop right in front of the vehicle in a puff of dust, only to turn around again and come charging back again. This adorable baby rhino was having the time of its life and couldn’t get enough of it while everyone inside the vehicle found this whole experience hilarious.

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.

The video shows a couple on safari going through some panicky and hilarious moments when a cheetah decides to jump on top of their safari vehicle. A cousin of mine and her boyfriend recently travelled to visit several National Parks in Tanzania. They came home with one of the most memorable safari holidays they could have dreamed of, with experiences that they will remember for a lifetime. One such experience was during a full day safari in the Serengeti National Park. While travelling long distances over the open plains in search of animals, they came across three cheetah brothers sitting in the open in the distance. Cheetah are one of the most common predators in the park, finding its open plains ideal for its high-speed hunting abilities and skills. Marian and her boyfriend were the only two safari guests in the vehicle which was closed and had an open roof for viewing purposes. Both were sitting in the back with the safari guide in the front. The next moment no one could believe what they saw. The one male cheetah got up and slowly started approaching the vehicle. Safari goers at this stage thought the cheetah is so kind to come a little closer to give them better photo opportunities. Little did they know this cheetah had different ideas. Next thing, the cheetah jumps onto the bonnet of the vehicle and their it stood, staring around and at those inside the vehicle. Marian immediately found the cheetah too close for comfort. She became panicky and somehow believed that climbing over to the front, she might somehow be closer to the safari guide and be more protected than her boyfriend. The safari guide in the video is still trying to explain to them that there is nothing to worry about when the cheetah jumped onto the roof and came right to the sunroof opening which had a small canopy for shade. With the cheetah peeping through the sunroof, Marian’s boyfriend clearly also went into panic mode. The noise and commotion inside caused by panicky safari tourists looked to be just too much for the cheetah and the big cat decided it was time to move off again after his brief visit. Marian and her boyfriend were in pieces laughing about the tense but hilarious moment they just experienced with this cheetah. There was a huge sigh of relief that came over them and the laughter continued. Looking at the video closer, one can also see that the other cheetahs attempted to get onto the vehicle in front of them as well. Were the cheetahs keen to get into the vehicles and eat all the tourists? Most likely not. On the open plains of Tanzania’s National Parks, there are not many large trees that provide shade for animals such as the cheetah during the heat of a scorching summer day. Over time, these cheetahs have come to learn that the vehicles and people in them will do nothing to them and started jumping onto the vehicles to get into the shade of the little canopies on top of the safari vehicle’s sunroof. A safari experience no one will really forget.

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.

The video shows a beautiful silhouette moment of a male lion and his cubs that I managed to capture just after sunset in the African wild. I was lucky enough to find myself in the right place at the right time, feeling like I was living in a scene from the Lion King movie. Living and working in the African wild is a great privilege and the opportunities for filming and photographing true wilderness nature are endless. While living in the bush every day brings about constant new filming opportunities, the ultimate shots and moments come around at random times and one can go for days or even weeks without filming anything major. Like with anything else in life, it is important to keep going and eventually things will turn your direction. It was a late summer afternoon when I followed up on a nearby pride of lions that was spotted earlier in the day. It was just before sunset and tracking a pride of lions at that time of the day becomes more difficult and dangerous. The sun was busy setting behind the horizon when me and my wife decided to call it a day. Just as we thought the search was over, we came around a corner and there they were. A pride of lions lying scattered around, elevated on top of a hill. The most prominent features were a big male lion and his cubs during this time. The sun just dropped below the horizon. The elevated lions, together with the golden orange shine at dusk glowing behind them, made for a magical silhouette moment. I couldn’t believe my luck and how much we were in the right place at the right time. It felt like I was filming a scene from the Lion King while the early evening sounds of the African bush added to the magical atmosphere. The big male lion and his two cubs were on the hill and in perfect position to create these stunning silhouette visuals. In that moment it felt surreal and as if I was in a fantasy world, created by nature right in front of me. How beautiful nature can be in so many different ways. I am glad I am able to share this special moment from the African wild with everyone else.

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.

During a late afternoon safari in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, these people came across a small herd of buffalo bulls lying down in the long grass. One buffalo in particular caught their attention. He was resting his head backwards against another herd member’s side. His head was facing upwards with his nose and mouth straight up in the air. Suddenly two birds came bouncing around the head of the buffalo. These birds are called oxpeckers and they are on the buffalo for a very good reason. They are looking for ticks and parasites such as blood-sucking flies, fleas and lice that they consume as food. Amazingly they also remove earwax, grease and even mucus from the buffalo’s hard to reach places such as around the eyes, nose, mouth and ears!

Many people might wonder how a five-ton elephant sleeps. While lying down is not an option, this video shows the awkward way in which a bull elephant actually managed to fall asleep while standing upright and resting his head against a tree trunk. The African elephant is the largest land mammal roaming this planet, with mature bull elephants reaching weights of over five tons. Being such a big animal, the elephant needs to feed on a constant basis, right through the day and night. It is estimated that elephants feed for about twenty hours per day and if elephants are not feeding, they are near and around water drinking and cooling down during warm days. This begs the question of when do these massive animals actually rest or sleep? Incredibly enough, elephants do not enjoy a six to eight hour sleep every night like most humans do. Due to their constant need to feed, elephants take short rest pauses as they need it. Baby elephants and sub adults do lie down for a short while to sleep while the adults stand around on guard. Lying down and going into a long deep sleep is not an option and also too dangerous for most animals, unless you are a lion or a leopard. Larger elephants sometimes lean against a tree or embankment and take their short naps in an upright position. When you a lone bull elephant weighing over five tons, like the big boy in this video, your options for getting comfortable for a quick power nap are limited. I found this lone bull while out on a safari in the Kruger National Park and his behaviour fascinated me, so I decided to film an occasion that people normally don’t get to see. The large bull elephant just finished drinking water when he slowly approached a nearby tree. The bull elephant looked very tired and everything he did was in slow motion. The elephant bull then slowly went to rest his head against the tree trunk and amazingly he started to fall asleep while standing upright. A complete head of an elephant, including tusks, trunk, and ears, can weigh over four hundred kilograms. With that in mind, it made sense for the old boy to rest that weight on a tree trunk while taking his nap. I was in awe watching the elephant bull standing in such an awkward position while being so comfortable at the same time standing sleeping. I actually felt happy for the big old elephant getting a well-deserved short nap as I can only imagine how much he has to go through on a daily basis to survive in the African wild.

The video shows a huge elephant bull, casually walking up to a swimming pool for a drink, with the safari tourists in the pool totally stunned by the unexpected encounter. When going on a safari holiday, you can always expect the unexpected. The African wild is always full of surprises and part of the thrill being on a safari holiday is finding all the wild animals the bush has to offer. On some occasions, the wildlife might just find you. Elephants are one of the most popular animals to see on safari. Seeing the worlds largest land mammal in all its glory out in its natural environment is priceless. Elephants are also by far the most intelligent animals that roam the African wild. Elephants love water and must drink daily. In the world of the elephant, the cleaner the water, the better the water. Over time, elephants have figured out interesting ways to find fresh water out in the wild. With numerous unfenced safari camps scattered around in Africa’s nature reserves, these intelligent giants developed a liking for swimming pool water. While many might think that the chlorine in the water can be harmful to the elephants, the opposite is actually true. Chlorine keeps the water clean and at a balanced ph level, making swimming pool water way cleaner than ground or river water out in the wild. Elephants know this through their sense of smell and would never drink any water that is very dirty or harmful to them. The video shows how a huge elephant bull casually walks up to a swimming pool, situated in the front of the room of safari holiday makers. The tourists were relaxing in the pool during the heat of the day and could not have asked for something more unexpected. Finding elephants while out on a safari vehicle is incredible, but having an elephant finding you in the pool while relaxing with drinks is a whole next level experience. The elephant bull stuck its trunk in the pool for a big sip of water, with the safari tourists sitting dead still in the water while admiring the giant beast drinking from their pool, right in front of them. The big bull elephant took another sip of water after which it suddenly stopped, probably realising that the two figures in the water were human beings. The elephant’s behaviour suddenly changed and with a few deep belly rumbles, the elephant slowly turned around and moved off back into the bush. It was an incredibly unusual close and possibly dangerous encounter for the holiday makers but freezing and not moving with a large elephant so close to you was the best thing they could have done. Luckily the elephant wasn’t frightened by their presence and decided to leave the stunned safari tourists in peace.

The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a vibrant semi-arid wilderness area with a great variety of wildlife. One of the main attractions are the big cats such as lion and leopard. Finding leopard can be tough but lions are seen on a regular basis and the park hosts a strong and healthy population. Temperatures in the park can reach between forty three and forty seven degrees Celsius. Big cats such as lion do not move at all during these hot times of the day. They will spend majority of the day resting or sleeping under the shade of a tree. The only problem is that there are not always many big trees around in this semi desert wilderness. This means that the lions of the Kgalagadi have become very innovative over time in their ways of finding shade where no trees are nearby. We were out on safari one morning for over four hours when we decided to head back to our wilderness camp. The heat was becoming relentless and the temperature was already thirty eight degrees Celsius at ten o clock in the morning. The camp had beautifully constructed rustic chalets made out of wood. Each chalet could sleep two people and each one had a veranda with a great view and most importantly great shade. These type of wilderness camps are also un-fenced, so wildlife can come and go through these camps as they like. For this very reason you are always collected and dropped off by a safari vehicle as walking around is forbidden. We quickly realized first-hand the purpose of the no walking around policy. We drove into the wilderness camp ready to go and relax and cool down at our chalet. Upon our return, our guide said he heard that it won’t be possible for us to go back to our chalet just yet. I thought he was joking at first but then became confused by this rather disappointing news. We asked him why? and he said he would go and show us. As we came around the corner of our chalet we got a big surprise. There he was, a big male lion, lying in the shade in front of our chalet. My wife and I were totally stunned by this unexpected visitor lying in front of our accommodation and we couldn’t say a word. We realized that we had to go find ourselves some other shade for the time being and wait for the lion to move on. Luckily we could spend our time in the restaurant until we were eventually told after three hours that the lion moved on and we could go back. Not every day that a lion beats you to your own house in search of a shady resting spot.

The video shows a rare sighting of a pink male baby elephant swimming with his family in a river in the African wilderness. A while ago I was leading a safari that produced one of the rarest and most adorable sights I have ever seen out in the African wild. It was a sweltering hot afternoon and we decided to drive along a river bank, in the hope to maybe find animals near the water. It was not long before we came across a big herd of elephants in the river. The elephants made use of the opportunity to enjoy a cool down session of swimming in the water. Suddenly one of my guests yelled from the back,” what the hell is that swimming among the elephants!? “. I quickly grabbed my binoculars and couldn’t believe what I saw. It was definitely an elephant but it was pink!! Everybody including myself sat there totally dumbstruck, watching a bright pink baby elephant swimming among the rest of the elephants right in front of us. I realized that we found a true albino baby elephant, with no protective skin pigment, melanin, with unpigmented eyes and not so white but pink skin. Only a handful of sightings have ever been reported on pink elephants in the African wild. Finding albino elephants among the Asian species is more common. For a true albino baby elephant to make it to adulthood in Africa is very rare. The harsh African sun makes survival a struggle for non-pigmented animals. Over time the sun can also cause blindness in their unpigmented eyes. Over and above all these factors, albino animals also stand out, are less camouflaged, which makes them much more vulnerable to predators. Luckily this pink baby elephant has a massive herd protecting him. It looked like the pink baby elephant had the time of his life swimming with his family during the heat of the day. When it was time to get out, like with any other baby elephant, it was an adorable struggle to get up the slippery riverbank. The baby elephant made one attempt only to slide back into the river. With a little courage and help form his mother, the pink male baby elephant managed to get out and disappear into the bush with his family. Everybody was in awe, and we left the area feeling totally stunned by what we saw out in the African wild.

The video shows the incredible close moments I was able to capture of a male leopard that decided that the deck of our room in a safari camp was the best place to get comfortable during the day. During a recent long weekend, I decided to treat myself and my wife to some time away in a luxury safari camp in the Great Kruger National Park. We got a whole lot more than just treating ourselves to a relaxing weekend. It was mid-morning when we arrived back at the safari camp from our three-hour safari out in the bush. We decided to grab a late breakfast before heading back to our room for a midday rest during the heat of the day. We were about to finish our breakfast when an employee of the safari camp notified us that a male leopard was just spotted moving around close by our room. We have been searching for big cats the whole morning. We couldn’t find any. The news brought excitement but confusion and a little worry all at the same time. It’s great that there is a chance that we can see a leopard but not so great that it is roaming around the camp and near our room. After breakfast we were escorted slowly and carefully back to our room, everybody scanning their surroundings. I was filming the whole way to the room, just in case we catch a glimpse of the big cat. I was behind the camp employee when we entered our room and within a few meters of entering he suddenly stopped and said, “there he is”. And there he was indeed. A big male leopard casually lying on the deck of our room. Outside the closed glass door luckily. I decided to keep filming and realised that the leopard didn’t see us yet. The reflection in the window from outside most likely stopped the male leopard from seeing into the room. My heart was beating fast with such an incredible beast a mere few meters away from me with just a glass plate separating us. I started feeling like the caged-in animal on the inside when the leopard did suddenly notice some movement through the window. The leopard’s whole behaviour changed from totally chilled to alert and focussed. That made my heart race even faster as I could see this big cat knows we are in there and he looked curious. After sitting still for a short while longer the leopard decided it was better to move on. I followed and opened the door to see where he went. The leopard stopped at the plunge pool, turned around, gave me one last stare, and disappeared over the rocks onto the next room which was luckily empty. Never in my life could I imagine getting so close to a wild leopard in Africa, and that right at my room in a safari camp.

The African male lion is the single greatest wildlife draw card on the continent. He is known as the king of the beasts and an apex predator. He rules supreme by virtue of his sheer physical strength and powerful enough to bring down prey up to three times his own size. With all of this in mind, it is really hard to imagine how anything could possibly stop him dead in his tracks. This video captures the unexpected moment when a big male lion surprisingly steps on a thorn. For a brief moment the <a href="https://rumble.com/v4aikj-battle-of-the-sexes-lioness-has-almighty-battle-with-lion.html" target="_blank">king of the jungle</a> was in real pain! His Royal Highness trots the savanna with all his glory, soaking up the afternoon sun. He is followed closely by a younger male member of the pride, both in no hurry to get anywhere. He doesn’t look to the ground, because he doesn’t have to - what member of royal blood would ever look down to the path he walks on to check for any imperfections that might hinder his magnificent stride? Just when we thought that the <a href="https://rumble.com/v2zicb-lion-opens-car-door.html" target="_blank">lion</a> will simply pass us by, he steps on something that made him wince like the little kitten that he is deep down and we all felt his pain. He may be big and burly, but when a thorn pricks you in a soft spot, you too will jump with agony and surprise. The sensation throws him off his track and makes him look at his afflicted paw. Since he knows that something is down there that will make him hurt again, he steps to his right to avoid it. We wonder who will take the blame for the insolence!

This video shows the nerve-wrecking moment when a lioness gets too close for comfort during a safari in the African wild. Going on a safari, especially on an open vehicle, the experiences can vary and be anything from ‘not much happening’ to ‘exciting and adventurous’ to ‘hair-raising in a second’ like shown in this video. Unlike in East Africa where safaris are done in closed vehicles, in Southern Africa most safari operators operate their safaris in open vehicles. These vehicles are specially equipped and designed for safaris out in the African wild. A safari is normally lead by two people. The nature guide will be driving the vehicle and interact with the safari guests. On the front left of these safari vehicles, a seat is mounted. This seat belongs to some of the bravest people in the African wild, the tracker guides. The tracker guides sit out there in the front, focusing on the road and surroundings in search of any animal tracks or signs. These guys are incredibly observant and are master animal trackers. Together with the nature guide they make a formidable team to try and find the best possible sighting for their guests out in a vast wilderness area where animals roam free. During this safari shown in the video the guiding team managed to find a great lion sighting for their guests. It was an incredible sighting indeed. A total of seven lionesses lying next to the road in the open. There were great photographic and video opportunities. The lionesses were all just lying around and not even really paying attention to the safari vehicle. Well that was until one lioness casually walked across the road and suddenly came to a standstill right in front of the tracking guide on his seat. This lioness had her eyes fixed right onto the tracker. With her ears pointed, eyes staring straight into the eyes of the tracker and her tail wiggling from side to side, the danger signs were there. This lioness was suddenly very interested in the person in front of her and way too close for comfort. Through all of this, the tracker did not even flinch or move, looking very calm, like he was chilling on a couch. Luckily the guide in the driving seat read all the danger signs and decided to start the vehicle and get some distance between them and the lions. Everyone on the vehicle was stunned by the incredibly close lion encounter they just witnessed. Salute to the tracker guide for keeping his cool and not moving or triggering anything further while face to face with a wild lion out in the open.

The video shows a big rhino bull, suddenly charging towards a safari vehicle, forcing the vehicle to move off with great haste and narrowly escaping a potentially dangerous situation. Going on safari in any National Park in Africa will ask you to take great care when coming near large and dangerous animals. Usually, elephants are the most intimidating and dangerous animals to meet right in the road while travelling along through the bush. This video shows that not only elephants have the tendency to charge towards vehicles. Rhinos clearly have the same tendency, even though it is way less common. White rhinos specifically are normally very chilled animals and seeing them becoming angry and agitated with vehicles is not the norm. But like with anything in the African bush, expect the unexpected and be prepared. The rhinos in the video initially seemed calm with all the vehicles in its surroundings. The behaviour of the large male rhino suddenly changed when one safari vehicle transporting tourists through the park decided to move on slowly past the rhinos. Bad idea. The rhino bull suddenly stormed towards the safari vehicle in a puff of dust. The vehicle immediately sped off in another puff of dust. The rhinos all became bewildered but quickly clamed down when the dust settled. Luckily the driver of the safari vehicle reacted in good time to avoid a nasty incident.

This video was recorded in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. It shows the interesting interaction and friendship between a zebra and a bird. These birds are known as oxpeckers and share a very unique relationship with African mammals like the zebra. We noticed this juvenile oxpecker eagerly fiddling around on the mane of a zebra. It literally looked like the bird was working on the zebra's hairstyle. The bird even took a few steps back to have a better overall look at his work. He would then get back to providing his hair styling service and again went back a little to admire his styling work. Amazingly enough, the zebra was standing dead still the whole time and tolerated the bird that was busy all over his head and face. Even though they are two totally different species, these two animals are great friends in many ways and very helpful and caring to one another. The oxpecker works his beak through the mane of the zebra looking for food like ticks and parasites. While the bird enjoys a tasty meal, the zebra in return is saved from tick and parasite infestation. Infestation will normally lead to a loss of blood and energy at the same time. When mammals lose their condition they become the weakest links. In a hostile wilderness where the survival of the fittest really does matter, it is important to stay in top condition. At the same time his mane gets straightened out and the zebra maintains a clean and healthy look. This win-win relationship is known as mutualistic symbiosis. Both species involved gain several advantages from their relationship. We can happily confirm that after the oxpecker bird was done styling the zebra's mane, they both moved off, looking like very happy individuals. The zebra was looking in top condition and the bird left with a full tummy. Amazing to see how Mother Nature has a plan and reason for absolutely everything.

This video shows the adorable moments of three very cute baby hyenas, grooming their mother with lots of enthusiasm and love. While hyenas in general will not make it to the podium at a beauty pageant, their babies on the other hand will take all prizes for the cutest and most adorable looking baby animals in the African wild. Hyenas have a fearsome reputation in general but when you get to spend more time with these magnificent creatures, you come to realise that these unique animals have a fascinating social structure. Hyenas live in clans of up to forty individuals and strong family bonds are kept and maintained in various interesting ways and manners. Females rule the world of hyenas; clans are led by matriarchs and males remain subordinate for life. Female hyenas are also bigger and stronger in build than males. What I saw on this day while sitting at a hyena den in the African wild made me realise once again how much love exists among animal parents and their babies, scary looking or not. The big mother hyena was lying outside her den. Hyenas normally use old burrows in termite mounds as a den where their babies will remain in and close by for several months after birth. The mother hyena was guarding the den with her three cubs on the inside. Hyena babies are called cubs and contrary to their dog like looks, hyenas are more feline related than canine. The mother hyena was enjoying an early morning nap when her three adorable cubs came out the den all curious. At first only one hyena cub started but soon all three jumped in, eagerly nibbling, and licking at their mother’s head. These cute hyena babies decided it was time to give their mother some love and care, simultaneously treating mommy to a proper grooming session with lots of love. The mother hyena looked like she had a smile on her face the whole time and seemed super relaxed. The large female hyena slowly opened her mouth for a big yawn, creating a scary looking image for a quick moment, momentarily interrupting the ongoing cuteness. After a few minutes of grooming their mother, the cubs lost interest and wondered off to explore the area around their den.

The video shows a group of safari tourists, totally surprised on arrival by two hyenas casually lazing around their accommodation. Going on a safari holiday in Africa is an adventure and a trip of a lifetime. If you love unspoiled wilderness nature, the African wild is the place to be. Working and living in such a wilderness area gives me the opportunity to see daily how tourists react to various experiences while on their safari holiday. Doing two safaris per day is one of the major highlights, while the food and accommodation plays an equally important role. Most safari camps are unfenced, so wild animals can roam through most camps at any given time. This concept gives everyone an authentic wilderness experience, up close and personal. Tourists are always accompanied by a field guide when outside their accommodation and if everyone follows a few simple instructions, there is not much to worry about. This video shows one of those random unexpected encounters with wildlife inside a safari camp. I was driving a group of guests to their remote lone standing hut when I noticed something lying on the one side of the building. I stopped the vehicle and quickly realised it was an old female hyena taking a nap in the shade that the tourist’s accommodation provided. It was after all just past two in the afternoon which is check in time and it was sweltering hot. There are not much shade around the safari hut, so the hyena female discovered that a thatched roof provides excellent shade and cooler temperatures on the cement around the building. I drove around the building only to find another female hyena also casually lying against the building, enjoying the shady spot during the heat of the day. Everyone was totally surprised and even amazed by the fact that these two hyenas were blocking their checking in process. This is the African wild for you and you can always expect the unexpected. What do you do now with your guests in such a situation? I decided to rather head back to the main lodge, where everyone can enjoy an awaiting lunch and drinks and leave the checking in for a little later. Of course everyone was just too happy with the solution, giving the hyenas time to move off once it became a little cooler that afternoon. This was another great safari experience to remember.

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.

During a recent safari in the Kruger National Park these people were treated to the site of a large bird, daringly sitting on the back of a hippo while showing amazing balancing skills in an attempt to remain on the back of the hippo. The visitors stopped at a large dam to observe a variety of wildlife in and around the water. There were various species of water birds present together with a huge number of large crocodiles scattered around the edges of the water. Inside the water there were pods of hippo spread all over. Suddenly they spotted a large bird called a grey heron, flying over the water. To their surprise, the heron landed on the back of one hippo in the middle of the dam. Grey herons are large water birds that are commonly found around shallow water bodies such as shallow rivers, lakes and open marshes. They spend their time hunting mainly fish, with a menu that stretches to aquatic invertebrates, rodents and even small birds. This specific bird seen in the video is no ordinary heron. Over time this bird has developed the insight to find an alternative fishing tactic. Instead of only hunting along the shallow edges of this deep dam, the bird amazingly figured out to use the back of hippos as a perching point to fish from. In the middle of the dam the bird has the opportunity to get to larger fish swimming in the deep waters. Most of the time these hippos will tolerate the bird on their backs but there are times when things do not always go according to plan for the bird. The video shows the heron was perched on the back of a hippo that kept on moving around with no regard to the bird standing on its back. The hippo would roll from side to side and the heron would react to keep its balance by walking forward or backwards, just like someone would attempt to keep their balance on a drum floating in the water. This made for very entertaining viewing and we could not believe how determined this bird was to stay on the back of the hippo. Eventually the movements of the hippo became more erratic when it started fighting with another hippo. Finally the bird gave up and flew off over the water. To everyone's amazement the heron didn’t seem to give up and flew over the water straight onto the back of another hippo with half its body exposed outside the water. It is rare to see an interaction between such two very different wildlife species. Hippos are known as one of the most aggressive and dangerous mammals in Africa. To see a large bird showing off incredible balancing skills on the back of one of these feared creatures was a fascinating encounter.

The video shows a newborn baby elephant taking its first steps with its wobbly legs. Few things in nature can be as heartwarming as newborn baby animals. Baby animals are adorable and very cute. A newborn baby elephant is most likely one of the cutest sights you can have while on an African safari. Seeing the largest land mammal on the planet in baby form, specially being less than a day old, is something that will make most hearts melt. When baby elephants are born, they can stand within half an hour, and it can take a good few hours before they can walk and remain stable on their legs. During their first few hours of life, the legs of baby elephants are very wobbly and weak. It is during this period that determination and a survival instinct drives the baby to make numerous attempts to walk with their weak legs. During each attempt to walk, the legs of the baby elephant will get stronger and stronger until the muscles are strong enough for it to stay on its feet for long periods of time. The video shows how a baby elephant goes through the motions of learning how to walk on its wobbly legs. It is an adorable sight, with the baby elephant swaying from side to side, back and forth. Repeatedly the baby elephant would fall over forward, face first into the ground. Survival instinct drives the baby elephant not to give up and it would make several attempts to get walking, no matter how hard the task at hand may seem. One of the cutest sights you can possibly ask for to see out on an African safari.

Meet the bird with probably the most unusual and unique call in the whole of Africa. The Black-Bellied Bustard, a large ground-dwelling bird found in woodland and open grassland areas of sub-Saharan Africa. These birds are uncommon local residents in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. The most attractive and fascinating part about this whole bird is by far its unique and rather funny call. At first the male bird is busy shaking and preening his feathers. It's very important for this male to look at his best and in great condition. During the call, he displays with his tail held in an upright fanned position. He lifts his head high and then the call starts with a "quaaaark"... There is silence for 2 -3 seconds during which he pulls his neck back down. He then finishes the call with a funny "kwww ick" sound or otherwise referred to as a "cork popping" sound. The male bird uses this unique sound to promote and advertise his presence in his territory so other males can stay away. At the same time, it also let's all the females in the area know that he is the man, and ready for action. This is a call that people will seldom only hear over the grassy plains of the Kruger Park, never mind seeing the bird in action while performing this unique call. What a great experience to have this bird right in front of us, showing off in style.

Hwange National Park, situated in the northwest of Zimbabwe, is the county’s largest park and one of the top national parks in Africa. The vast wilderness areas of Hwange host the Big five and a multitude of animal species. The park is rated as one of the national parks with the biggest diversity of mammal species in the world. Hwange is even more world renowned among safari goers for its elephant population. The park is one of the world’s last elephant sanctuaries and home to some fifty thousand elephants, perhaps Africa's single largest concentration of elephant. With all these elephants around, there is naturally a heavy demand for water. Elephants are large and very thirsty creatures and need to drink daily. Water remains the single most important management factor in Hwange's continued existence. Having water is absolutely vital to the survival of all elephants in the park. The constant maintenance of the artificial but natural looking water pans, complete with resident hippo's and crocodile, has been a major factor sustaining this ecological treasury. Without these waterholes, Hwange National Park would return to the empty wasteland it once was while animals would die in their thousands. Game viewing in Hwange is superb during the dry period of the year. The park has no permanent natural water sources, so once the rains have stopped and the landscape starts to dry out, animals such as the elephants have to rely on the man made pumped waterholes for water. Animal sightings of African wild dog, lion, leopard, cheetah, giraffe and zebra are many of the highlights, but by far the mammals that Hwange is most famous for are its elephants. We visited Hwange National Park during the late dry season. We decided to spend one whole afternoon at one of the man made waterholes in the park. We sat in a shaded structure called a hide, overlooking a waterhole with a great vista of the surroundings. We could not have imagined what we were about to see over the next five hours. On our arrival at the waterhole, there were many elephants already at the water. For the whole five hours that we were there, herds and herds of elephants were coming and going from all directions. The movement of elephants in front of us was nonstop and absolutely mind blowing. With all the elephants gathering, we could clearly hear the many noises made by them, ranging from rumbling, screaming and trumpeting sounds, echoing across the open savanna. The nonstop variety of many strange noises added immensely to the whole experience. Never in my life have I seen so many elephants in one place and there are very few places in the world where you would be lucky enough to see something like this. I started filming right through the whole afternoon. The video shows a collection of some of the many elephant moments around the waterhole during that one afternoon. We counted an estimated six hundred and fifty elephants that visited the waterhole during our five-hour stay that afternoon. At the end of the afternoon there was a dramatic sunset and the elephants kept coming and going. After sunset we had to leave but the elephants just kept coming and coming. This was by far one of my greatest experiences while on safari in a very long time. I could gladly leave and say that we have witnessed a great natural spectacle, not really to be found anywhere else in the world.