Baby elephant adorably learning to get back on his feet

Baby elephants are just plain adorable and always a huge favourite among safari goers. This video is a great example of just exactly why, showing how a male baby elephant finds it difficult to get back onto his feet without any real interference.

It was early morning in the Kruger National Park and we headed out on our morning safari. At first there were not many animals to see but as the morning progressed, wildlife sightings became more active. Halfway through our morning safari we were surprised by a large herd of elephants standing next to the road busy feeding. It was breeding herd made up of many female relatives and their young. There were a good number of baby elephants also in the herd and we decided to spend some time watching the herd with all the focus mostly on the baby elephants. Everybody was amazed by just how cute the largest land mammal on earth in baby form can be. During the first part of their lives, baby elephants have an incredible number of abilities and skills to learn in order to survive in the African wild. While it can take a baby elephant up to three years to use its trunk to its full potential, walking and standing on their own two feet can also be a challenge as shown in this video.

All our attention moved to one specific baby elephant that was lying on its own in front of us in the road. For no particular reason, this baby elephant decided to go lie down on its side right on the edge of the road. We couldn’t really understand the reason for this behaviour but it looked hilarious and so adorable. It looked like the baby elephant was just enjoying lying in the dirt. Once it had enough of playing in the dirt, the baby elephant decided it was time to get back onto its legs. This effort turned out to be more complicated than anticipated by us and the baby elephant. In the attempt to stand up, the baby elephant stepped backwards, stumbling on the edge of the road before falling down onto its knees.

We felt sorry for the baby elephant but at the same time we could not help but to laugh at the comical and clumsy display. While sitting on its knees on the ground, the baby elephant made another awkward looking attempt and finally got back onto his feet. The baby elephant looked a little confused, first smelling the soil before giving a few funny looking steps backwards. With a flick of the trunk, the baby elephant turned around and finally started walking properly back to the rest of the herd. It was so amazing to see how a baby elephant on its own, without any other interference, can be so entertaining to watch. We left with big smiles on our faces.