Video footage shows the beloved male elephant feeding atop a vertical river bank known to crumble after heavy rains.
A beloved male elephant left safari onlookers in awe and concerned for his safety recently when he appeared at the edge of a towering river bank to forage on vegetation.
“Mabula quite literally living on the edge,” Thula Thula Private Game Reserve, located in South Africa, described via social media. “We were all petrified watching Mabula so close to the edge of the bank on the Enseleni River which often crumbles in heavy rains.”
Among the top Facebook comments was this from Yvonne Moore: “Mabula be careful… You’re treading on dangerous terrain there.”
A Thula Thula Instagram follower commented: “Couldn’t breathe watching this.”
Mabula, part of a herd of seven elephants rescued years ago, is described by Thula Thula as “our entertainer” and certainly lived up to that billing on this day.
The reserve did not respond to inquiries by FTW Outdoors but it’s presumed that Mabula ultimately retreated safely from the bank.
An elephant from Kruger National Park escaped into a neighboring township. Video footage shows the initial panic. Then things change.
An elephant from Kruger National Park in South Africa escaped into a neighboring township and ran wild, sending people scrambling for safety.
But not all the people fled.
Some chased the elephant and threw objects at it, and the situation worsened as officials from the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency and KNP attempted to use a helicopter to drive the elephant back into the national park.
Community members threatened MTPA officials on the ground, and police could not control the crowds, prompting the helicopter to be withdrawn, KNP’s Ike Phaahla told Lowvelder.
Sadly, the incident on Saturday in Matsulu ended in heartbreak with officials from the MTPA having to euthanize the elephant.
“The MTPA colleagues did their best, but it looks like their efforts were in vain,” Phaahla told Lowvelder.
From The South African: “The Matsulu Community Policing Forum’s Jacob Siboza told the publication that he was informed that some community members had started cutting the elephant up after the MTPA had shot it.”
Tiny versus mighty appears to be a theme because the accompanying footage shows a courageous baby buffalo chasing a large elephant.
The footage was shared Thursday by Kruger Sightings, in reference to Kruger National Park, along with the X description: “Baby buffalo shows the elephant who’s boss!”
As viewers can see, momma buffalo is close behind baby buffalo, obviously concerned for its safety.
The elephant, running backwards while facing baby buffalo, seems to be trying to avoid contact and trumpets its sentiment as the encounter mercifully concludes.
In the safari vehicle, a tourist is heard proudly boasting that she captured the scene on video.
Also on Thursday, we shared footage from India showing two men outside of a moving vehicle running from an angry elephant.
That footage is neither cute nor amusing, however, as it shows one of the men falling and being kicked by the elephant.
Footage captured in India shows two men running for their lives and one of the men falling and being kicked by the pachyderm.
A motorist in India on Wednesday captured footage showing two men running for their lives from an elephant and one of the men being kicked by the pachyderm.
The accompanying footage, which began to circulate via social media on Thursday, illustrates why it’s important to remain inside vehicles where large animals are present.
The Wayanadgram Instagram description states that the footage was captured by a man named Sawad as he and his family were en route to the resort city of Ooty.
The footage supports the popular belief that elephants are intelligent, thoughtful creatures.
Historical vids has shared footage of a large elephant herd crossing a rain-soaked road and one of pachyderms exhibiting what appears to be a gesture of appreciation after a safe crossing.
Historical vids, which provides daily “education through memes,” did not provide video credit or a date and location of the crossing. (See the clip below.)
Safari guests can be heard laughing in disbelief as the elephant easily uproots the tree in a South Africa game reserve.
Safari guests in South Africa watched in awe recently as an elephant uprooted and toppled a fairly large tree.
“Unparalleled strength. He made it look so easy,” Tim Prettejohn, a guide for Dulini Lodge, described via Instagram.
Prettejohn’s footage shows the elephant shoving with its head and pushing three times before the tree toppled to the ground. The safari guests can be heard laughing in disbelief.
Elephants are known to occasionally topple savanna trees in order to access their upper leaves. In fact, this type of browsing behavior is fairly common and has been described as destructive in parts of South Africa.
Dulini Lodge is within Sabi Sands Game Reserve adjacent to Kruger National Park.
Osh the elephant appears to be content under the care of keepers at the Oakland Zoo. So content, at times, that he purrs like a kitten.
Osh the elephant appears to be content under the care of keepers at the Oakland Zoo. So content, at times, that he purrs like a kitten.
The accompanying footage was shared via social media Sunday by the California zoo, along with the description:
“Maple & Willow aren’t the only ones with impressive purrs… here’s Osh making some sounds of satisfaction while enjoying his afternoon beet pulp snack.”
Maple & Willow aren’t the only ones with impressive purrs…here’s Osh making some sounds of satisfaction while enjoying his afternoon beet pulp snack 😋
Elephant purrs are among the social animals’ many communicative skills. They also make rumbling sounds and louder trumpeting calls.
Osh was born in 1994 and the African elephant has a substantial following among zoo regulars.
Maple and Willow are mountain lions kittens that ended up at the zoo after their mother was killed last month by a vehicle strike on a Northern California highway.
Video has surfaced showing an elephant using its trunk to pick up a child’s shoe, which had fallen into its enclosure, and gently return the shoe to the child.
Video has surfaced showing an elephant using its trunk to pick up a child’s shoe, which had fallen into its enclosure, and gently return the shoe to the child.
“He is confined. But not his spirits & compassion,” Susanta Nanda described on X. “Returns the shoe of a child which accidentally fell in its enclosure.”
He is confined. But not his spirits & compassion 😊😊
Returns the shoe of a child which accidentally fell in its enclosure.
(Free wild from cages) pic.twitter.com/odJyfIjM9Y
A baby elephant, left behind by its mother, was forced to defend itself when a group of lions took an interest in the vulnerable calf.
A baby elephant, left behind by its mother, was forced to fend for itself when a group of lions took an interest in the vulnerable calf.
The recent encounter occurred around 6:30 a.m. just north of Mopani Camp in Kruger National Park in South Africa.
Brent Schnupp, 55, from Virginia captured the rare scene and shared his story with Latest Sightings.
While on safari, Schnupp and his group saw a younger male and a female lion “enjoying a peaceful moment of coexistence.”
“However, the tranquility was short-lived,” Schnupp wrote. “Our attention was drawn to an adult female elephant emerging from the thicket ahead of us. She appeared to be in distress and was crossing the road with great haste. Little did we know at the time that she had left behind her vulnerable calf.
“The lions, sensing an opportunity, came onto the road and soon realized that the mother elephant had left her calf behind. The younger male lion took the lead in chasing the defenseless baby elephant. In contrast, the older male lion just stood and watched on, while the lioness also seemed uninterested.
“It was an emotional moment as the baby elephant stood in confusion, contemplating whether to make a break for it or confront the lions. The lions attempted [to attack] multiple times, but the baby elephant turned to face them every time.”
The brave ploy worked to discourage the lions, though you see this only once in the video.
“The little one displayed remarkable courage and bravery,” Schnupp wrote. “The lions, despite their numerical advantage and years of experience, couldn’t manage to get a grip on the calf. The standoff continued until the lions eventually gave up, seemingly convinced that they couldn’t overpower the young elephant.
“In my six years of visiting Kruger National Park, I’ve never witnessed anything quite like this. Even our seasoned guides from Leo Vantage were astonished, admitting that they had never seen lions chasing a baby elephant during their entire time in Kruger.”
The grainy footage, shared by Susanta Nanda of the Indian Forest Service, shows the rhino and elephant posturing for battle, with the rhino mounting the first charge.
But the elephant, all the while figuring how to end the battle with a single maneuver, ultimately positioned its bulk onto the rhino and pinned the smaller animal with the help of its tusks.
The rhino, possibly gored, was subsequently able to flee.
As one follower noted, “If you ever questioned why are there different weight categories in wrestling/boxing, this is the reason. The Elephant just put his weight on the Rhino till the Rhino threw in the towel.”
It was not clear who captured the footage, but it began to circulate on social media this week.
