The over-confident calf was among a herd of elephants refreshing themselves at the Spekboom lagoon in Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa when the mature buffalo walked towards the water to join them.
While the adult elephants seemingly paid little attention to their new drinking partner, the calf was clearly put out by his presence – charging towards him in the bizarre hope that his tiny frame would somehow scare the massive buffalo into leaving the area.
Needless to say, the bull wasn’t intimidated in the slightest and casually waited until the young elephant was within striking range before shoving him with his huge horned head. The poor calf was thrown several feet into the air before crashing back down on to the South African savanna.
The whole sorry incident, which took place in March this year, was caught on camera by local wildlife guide Conrad Cramer.
Mr Cramer said that although the calf’s pride was undoubtedly hurt, he escaped physical injury and spent the rest of the day hiding behind his mother.
‘What surprised me was that the other elephants were in no way disturbed by the chain of events, but rather seemed to see it as a life lesson that the youngster had to learn,’ Mr Cramer said.
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Taking a tumble: After making the unwise decision to challenge a mature buffalo more than twice his size, the self-assured elephant calf was sent flying several feet into the air by a single shove of the larger animal’s massive head
Over-confident: The calf was clearly put out by the presence of the mature buffalo at the watering hole and decided to charge towards him in the bizarre hope that his tiny frame would somehow scare the huge bull into leaving the area
Standoff: The small calf was among a herd of elephants refreshing themselves at the Spekboom lagoon in Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa when the buffalo walked towards the water to join them
Brace: While the adult elephants seemingly paid little attention to their new drinking partner, the calf decided it would be a good idea to try and intimidate the massive bull
Crunch: The bull wasn’t intimidated at all and casually waited until the young elephant was within striking range before using his massive head to shove him away
Going down: The calf is likely to have had second thoughts as he closed down on the buffalo, but by that point it was too late. As the unlikely enemies came together, the young elephant’s body twisted in a painful-looking way before he wound up in an embarrassing pile on the grass
Ouch: The young elephant ends up in a heap on the floor after his unwise decision to start a fight with a mature buffalo more than twice his size. The whole sorry incident, which took place in March this year, was caught on camera by local wildlife guide Conrad Cramer
Lucky: Wildlife guide Conrad Cramer said that although the calf’s pride was undoubtedly hurt, his thick skull and sturdy body ensured he escaped serious physical injury
Aftermath: The bull buffalo continued to hang around in the area after the distinctly one-sided fight, completely unfazed by the presence of the young calf’s herd. For their part the elephants also showed little interest in the dispute – almost as if they had shrugged off the calf’s unwise attempt at intimidation as a valuable life lesson