Watch the sighting here:
Wildlife filmmaker Kim Wolhuter sent this video to Latest Sightings. He filmed it while on a drive along the Majale River in Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana.
Easy for some
As Kim’s video begins, a female elephant stands at the foot of a steep riverbank. At its base, there is a large step that it navigates quite easily.
In the image above, note how it uses its knee to get the initial leverage to get over the initial rise. For a big elephant, this is no big deal.
As the first elephant gets to the top of the slope, a second also gets over the obstacle relatively easily. It may not be graceful, but it is effective.
Forgetful mum
However, the next elephant to arrive is just a little calf. And, although it tries its best, its little legs are just to small to overcome the big step up.
Meanwhile, the second elephant (which, Kim tells us, is the calf’s mother) continues up the slope. Oops!
Abandoned?
Subsequently, two more elephants arrive. They, too, get up the slope with minimal fuss. But the calf still stands stranded below. Surely, it’s not about to be abandoned.
At this point, one of the elephants trumpets in alarm. Kim said that only then did the mother elephant realise her mistake. Immediately, she turned to assist her stranded calf.
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Matriarch to the rescue
However, before she could get back down the slope, help arrived from below. Showing her wealth of experience, the herd’s matriarch came to assist.
In a display of tender care, she got her tusks under the calf’s rear end and pushed him up and over the step.
From then on, the calf managed on its own and soon reunited with its mother. With a wave of her trunk, the matriarch signalled her herd to continue.
As the matriarch brought up the rear, she noticed Kim’s vehicle parked on the riverbank. Ever protective, she turned with flared ears to face him. Satisfied that he posed no threat, she soon caught up with the herd as they moved off.
Takes a village
As the old saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child.” As seen in this video, the same is true in elephant communities.
Elephant society is matriarchal, meaning that they are led by a dominant female. Normally, the oldest member of the herd, her knowledge is instrumental in ensuring the herd’s survival.
Typical herds consist of a matriarch and her female offspring and relatives. Young males will leave their natal herd as they mature, but will occasionally return to socialise.
The herds are extremely close-knit, and individuals will often have special ‘friendships’ within the unit. These bonds ensure cohesion within the group, to the extent that they will readily assist one another when called upon.
By living together, the elephants learn from their elders. For instance, they will learn where water can be found during droughts, or how to help a calf over an obstacle.
Family units, such as the one seen in the video, will occasionally join others like them, either to socialise or share resources. Afterwards, they go their separate ways.