This little elephant remained unbowed in the face of mortal danger, and made a courageous and heroic charge for safety against impossible odds.
This sighting was caught by 55-year-old paramdeic firefighter Brent Schnupp, and the rest of his safari group, as they explored an area of the Kruger National Park just north of the Mopani Camp in the early hours of the morning.
As Brent describes it, they saw the lions initially, before their “attention was drawn to an adult female elephant emerging from the thicket” which “appeared to be in distress and was crossing the road with great haste.”
Two incredible sightings so close together is an amazing experience in itself, but the group was shocked when they realized the elephant had apparently left her calf behind, and therefore vulnerable to the lions.
Let The Chase Commence
The lions, presented with an opportunity they weren’t about to pass up, quickly start padding after the young and defenseless elephant which stuck out like a beacon in the brush.
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Curiously, this didn’t seem to be a concerted hunting effort, the lions hadn’t ambushed their prey like they ordinarily would, and instead were content to harry the poor little elephant with their opportunistic attacks.
Courage In The Face Of Danger
The little elephant faced nips against its back legs, and the fear of being chased by three dangerous predators, but it didn’t stop for a moment, and nor did it try to cower or hide.
Every time the lions attempted to press their advantage, the brave little baby would turn and face them down, causing them to retreat a little and give the elephant room to carry on its flight.
Brent said the “little one displayed remarkable courage and bravery” but the “lions, despite their numerical advantage and years of experience, couldn’t manage to get a grip on the calf.”
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The Largest Prey On Land
This type of hunting style is atypical for lions which will typically ambush their prey with surges of incredible power, rather than commit to a long and drawn out chase. Maybe they were forced into it by the diligence of the young elephant which was ready to turn and fight at a moment’s notice.
Nevertheless, it’s not uncommon for lions to try hunting elephants, the largest land animal alive. Their size and intelligence makes them difficult prey, but lions are adept at singling out the young and the weak, making this younger one separated from the herd a perfect target for them.
Extreme Circumstances
While rare due to their long gestation period, it’s also not unheard of for elephants to abandon their calves in extreme circumstances which are usually attributed to their environment.
However, if the mother is sufficiently stressed, which Brent’s account would seem to indicate, it’s possible that they might leave their calves in situations where they would be vulnerable. This is more common for elephants in captivity.
Survival for abandoned calves is difficult to the point of being unlikely, but in this case the lions were unsuccessful in their attempts to hunt the calf, which managed to make itself too much trouble for them to continue chasing.