Cynthia Mack caught the incredible courage of this baby elephant on camera while in the Hwange National Park. She told Latest Sightings that she and her group were at Little Makololo when they first noticed the elephant.
Watch Now:
She described it as “a grey object ‘jumping’ back in the treeline”, and used binoculars to identify it as “a young male elephant all by himself (about 5-8 years from the size of his little tusks).”
How this young elephant ended up all alone is unknown. He appeared to be limping, so it’s possible he was unable to keep up with the rest of the herd, and they left him behind, although this is rare in elephants.
The Lonely Calf
Elephant calves tend to remain with their herd and families for up to sixteen years of age, which means this sighting is especially unusual. Cynthia and her group identified the limping as being caused by “an infected knee joint”.
Elephants typically grow up in strong family units, with the matriarch presiding over the herd. Parenting of young calves is a communal affair, with the whole herd assisting the mother.
This calf’s knee infection had impaired its ability to walk, which meant it must have fallen behind the herd, which could do nothing for it. Cynthia and her group “knew he would be heading for the waterhole”, but they also knew there were lions in the area.
Easy Prey
The lions were on a nearby mound, according to Cynthia, and she knew they were there because “we had just photographed them”. Staying near waterholes means lions have better opportunities to set up their ambush attacks against prey.
In this case, the elephant was unable to flee for its safety, so there was no need for an ambush. One of the lions faced the elephant head-on, backing away as it waited for the opportunity to strike.
Despite its youth, the elephant was already bigger than the lion, which meant the feline would have to choose its moment carefully. The elephant’s bad knee would ensure it was slow, so the lions had time to figure out their approach.
A Desperate Face Off
Unable to flee, the only choice the young elephant calf had was to try and intimidate the lions and stop them from attacking. It held its ears out wide to make itself look even bigger and tried to charge.
Due to its bad knee, the charge consisted of a few hops towards the big cat. It was enough to make the lone lion back off momentarily, but far too little to scare it away for good, especially when it had the other two lions approaching for backup.
Weakened and alone, the first lion was able to bring the elephant calf down with little difficulty, but it couldn’t figure out how to deal a killing blow even with the help of its other feline friends.
Get our Best Sightings as they Come in
An Ineffective Savior
While the lions were puzzling over how to finish their grisly work, Cynthia’s group noticed “a huge bull elephant” heading towards the waterhole, and thought the calf might be saved.
The bull did take notice of the fight, and for a short moment it did look likely to help, but despite its great size, the ferocity of the lions forced it to retreat. The calf, unfortunately, was doomed.
Cynthia told Latest Sightings that neither she nor her guide with eighteen years of experience at the park, had “ever seen lions there take an elephant down like this”.
She advises safari goers not to “flee at the first sight of the kill, while it may be hard to watch, it is part of the bush experience, appreciate the sighting and learn from it!”