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Home Animals Watch Moment Huge Buffalo Drags Croc Out Of Water

Watch Moment Huge Buffalo Drags Croc Out Of Water

A buffalo with both a strong will and a strong nose managed to drag a Nile crocodile out of the water in a memorable sighting witnessed by Dr. Marc DeBerardinis, a doctor at Petaluma Orthodontics, at the Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge.

Heather Djunga
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The buffalo pulled and pulled, even when the croc refused to let go, eventually shaking off the stealthy predator. The determined creature even returned a moment’s later to the water’s edge as though to say to the croc, “Take that!”.

A sunset drive to the waterhole

Dr. DeBerardinis and his tour group had ventured down to a dam around sunset, when the air was cool and around the time animals come down to the waterhole for their evening’s drink.

They came in time to see a herd of buffalo approach the waterhole for their evening drink.

Buffaloes are water-dependent animals, which visit water sources at least twice daily. Owing to their large size, which makes them big enough to keep crocodiles at bay, they usually approach the waterholes with confidence; as this herd of buffalo did.

Chaos erupts as croc latches on to buffalo’s nose!

Says Dr. DeBerardinis: “As the buffaloes began drinking, an eruption took place at the front of the herd.”

The source of the commotion soon became evident. A rather large croc had latched onto the snout of one of the buffalo adults which had been drinking moments earlier.

Dr. DeBerardinis and his group watched in disbelief and amazement as the scene unfolded. “The buffalo let out a deep bellow that echoed through the surrounding bush. The rest of the herd watched in shock.”

In a moment reminiscent of the scene from Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories, where the elephant’s nose is pulled on by a croc, the buffalo pulled away from the croc.

This appeared a very painful ordeal for the buffalo, with its nose visibly stretched as the crocodile held on tooth and nail, refusing to let go. “The battle continued with the buffalo trying to free itself and the crocodile holding on with all its bodily fibres.”

Buffalo pulls the croc onto dry land

Heaving and hoeing with all its might, the buffalo eventually succeeded in pulling the crocodile onto the land. A croc’s turf is the water and crocodiles are most successful hunting in the water. Possibly this buffalo knew it had more chance of freeing itself from the crocodile’s grip on dry land.

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However, the crocodile still refused to let go.

In the clip, the spectators can be overheard says, “It looks like it hurts, is he going to live.”

The creature’s nose was visibly extended, and the crocodile’s jaws remained locked. The herd, which had previously scattered from the water, now stood behind the buffalo as a united front.

The great bellows of the buffalo could be heard while the crocodile remained poker-faced, its teeth locked firmly into the buffalo’s snout. The buffalo showed strength and determination as it gave its all to move across the floor of the bushveld, away from the croc.

A violent shaking, and the buffalo is set free

It eventually did succeed! With a violent shake, it managed to free itself from the stealthy predator, which then slithered all the way back on its belly back to the river.

“That’s pretty hardcore, I hope that thing’s ok,” said a spectator.

Was the buffalo ok? You bet. The brave animal even returned to the waterhole and looked towards the water where the croc had now disappeared, as though to leave a closing remark: “Yeah, take that!”

In Rudyard Kipling’s story, the crocodile stretched the elephant’s nose so much that its nose was stretched into a trunk! This buffalo’s nose didn’t become a trunk, and was possibly badly injured; however, the sighting will be remembered as a story of victory for a most brave buffalo.

“In the end, the buffalo broke loose, and the crocodile retreated back to the safety of the water. Buffalo – 1, crocodile – 0.”

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