This footage was filmed by Thys Pretorius, who sent it along with his story to Latest Sightings. He filmed it while visiting Addo Elephant National Park in Eastern Cape province, South Africa.
Watch The Sighting Here:
A Giant Pool Party
Commenting on his video, Thys set the scene, “We were at a dam in Addo just watching the elephants bathing and playing around. You could see there was so much joy and excitement amongst the herd. I was just loving sitting there and watching them all have fun.”
As the giant pool party went on, Pretorius recalled, “Suddenly my eye caught a boisterous young calf trying to climb on top of another sibling.”
Rising To The Occasion
In the video, the playful calf raises his front legs in an attempt to climb onto another calf. Lying on its side, there was little his playmate can do.
However, as his friend rolls helplessly beneath him, the climbing calf’s foot slips. As a result, he ends up awkwardly straddling the other youngster.
Then, as the lower calf rolls beneath him, the calf slips off, landing on his rump.
The calf throws its head back in exaggerated frustration to keep its friend pinned to the ground.
Eager to get out from under his bullying buddy, the lower calf rolls back and forth…
Free At Last
Eventually, the calf had his first taste of the effects of gravity, as he slipped off entirely. Landing on his side, the playful pachyderm took a moment to catch his breath.
And, it would seem, come up with a new plan of attack.
Use Your Head To Get Ahead
Struggling for leverage while down on the ground, the calf used the nearest object possible to raise itself from the ground. As it happened, this was the other calf’s hindquarters.
Reinvigorated and seemingly more determined than ever, he once again started climbing onto his pal. Sensing this, the other calf tried to rise, but it was too late.
Soon, he had both feet up on his buddy’s back. But then, he slipped again, once more awkwardly straddling the other calf.
I’ve Had Enough
By now, the other calf had had enough. Using all his strength, he tried to get up. In the process, the first calf’s feet left the ground, and it started to tip forward.
As he passed the point of no return, the calf got his second lesson in the effects of gravity.
With the weight of his friend on his head, the lower calf dipped his head and physics did the rest.
Once again, the calf came crashing down to earth, much to the relief of his pestered pal.
Once again rid of his tormentor, the relieved calf eyed him with bemusement.
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Better Luck Next Time
Then, as if smug in his undeserved victory, the relieved calf gave his companion a friendly slap with his trunk.
Thys said the herd moved on shortly afterwards. Reflecting on the incident, he said, “It was a really sweet and funny moment, and I’m so glad I got it captured on film. This really made my day.”
The Importance Of Play
As with humans, play helps young elephants develop the social skills necessary to live in a close community. In this instance, the smaller elephant is taking advantage of his larger sibling’s prone position in an attempt to assert dominance.
While it might not have worked out in his favour, he’ll hopefully have learnt something about gravity.