Nine-year-old Alex Rae filmed this footage, and Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve submitted it to Latest Sightings on her behalf.
Bushveld tranquillity
The video begins with a scene of bushveld tranquillity. Against a backdrop of lush green grass, a herd of buffalo rests with some elephants nearby.
One of the elephants, a young bull, has approached the buffalo, as if sizing them up. Just like many teenage boys, young elephant bulls often feel they need to prove themselves.
Insecure body language
We can tell by his body language that he is a bit unsure of himself, as he paces back and forth, testing the air with his trunk.
After a few moments, he ups the ante by lashing his trunk towards the still passive buffalo. This can be interpreted as a threatening gesture. One that the buffalo ignore.
Subsequently, he curls his trunk, placing the tip in his mouth. This, too, signals that he is feeling insecure.
Escalation
After summoning his courage, he advances on the least threatening of the buffalo, a bull that is lying down. With ears flared and head lowered, he tries to intimidate the bull.
However, the bull is having none of it. This indifference seems to both upset and perplex the elephant.
With that, the frustrated elephant does something unusual: he kicks the buffalo in the head…
That was too much!
Incensed at the elephant’s unwarranted aggression, the bull rises, determined to teach the youngster a lesson he won’t soon forget.
Seeing this, the uncertain teenager turns tail, ready to flee. Meanwhile, the insulted buffalo lowers its head and charges after the elephant.
Well-placed vengeance
Unfortunately for the fleeing elephant, he is too slow. In a few strides, the buffalo catches up and jabs his tormentor right where it hurts.
As all this unfolds, Alex and her companions are in hysterics, especially when the elephant squeals in alarm as his butt is poked.
Consequently, the buffalo aborts his assault as the elephant keeps on running. Then, as if realising his reputation is at stake, he turns to face the buffalo. Only this time, he does so from behind a small tree.
In a desperate bid to save face, the bull flares his ears and waves his trunk at the buffalo. However, after learning a lesson he likely won’t forget, he keeps his distance.
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I’ve made my point
For its part, the buffalo stands its ground, as if daring the elephant to try its luck. Confident that his warning landed, he turns away and rejoins his herd.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the elephant stays put.
Testing boundaries
Like adolescent humans, young elephants learn their place in their environment through trial and error. Full of hormones and an inflated sense of self, they push the boundaries with both family members and other species.
In so doing, they find their place in the hierarchy, quickly learning who they can and cannot push around. Of course, as they grow, this dynamic will shift.
So, while the youngster learned a lesson, the tables will eventually turn. For the buffalo’s sake, we hope the elephant’s legendary memory is just a myth.