There’s never a bad time to lie down and have a quick nap, unless you’re an elephant, and the place you’re trying to have a nap is the side of the road, and the rest of the herd wants to move on.
Fergus Rosslee spotted this tired elephant bull on camera, and filmed its interaction with a fellow member of the herd as it tried to annoy the bull into getting back up and moving on with the rest of them.
Just Trying To Rest
It appeared to be dusk in Fergus’ footage, which meant these elephants were coming to the end of a long day. Elephants have a lot of weight to carry around on their feet, making the time they can lay down and rest quite a valuable one.
This elephant bull had had enough. It had stood with the herd, and it had spent the day meandering around eating leaves from trees, and now it clearly just wanted to take a moment to lie down and relax.
This was, however, a problem. The day wasn’t over yet, and the two other elephants accompanying this third had other places they wanted to be, or at least they didn’t want to be right next to the road.
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The Right Spot For A Nap
There are few, if any, predators that will target a healthy adult elephant. Their sheer size and bulk lends them strength enough to allow them to fight against, and even kill animals like lions.
Elephant calves remain vulnerable, and elderly and weak elephants wouldn’t be able to defend themselves as well, but healthy adults often aren’t worth the effort to hunt.
Unless, of course, they’re sleeping by the side of a road where a passing lion pride might think it’s worth it to attack where they can take the elephant by surprise. Maybe this was why this elephant’s fellows were trying to convince it to get up and move on.
Like A Petulant Child
Even if the annoying elephant bull was trying to get the sleeping one up for its own safety, the elephant laying prone was refusing to get at all. The bull kept trying to tuck its tusks under its friend and lift it to its feet but to no avail.
The statement “get lost” is the same regardless of the animal, it seems, as the sleepy elephant kicked out repeatedly with all four of its legs, trying to make sure the other left it alone.
Their scuffle resulted in the elephant being turned around several times on the ground, impressive considering its size, but it stubbornly continued to refuse getting up to its feet.
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The elephant’s last tactic to make the sleepy bull get back to its feet was unorthodox, but apparently the most effective. Trying to use its tusks and trunk to get the bull to its feet had failed, so instead it just laid on top of it.
Strangely enough, this was the last straw, and as the elephant gave up and the rest of the herd started to move on, the tired bull finally labored to its feet and hurried after them, looking like it was just as likely to fight them for waking it up as much as rejoin them.