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Photo: Unique Quality Products
Adorable Baby Elephant Practices "Charging" At Kruger National Park
Timothy Roberts
When it comes to animals, I think we all probably have a favorite. For some, it may be the animal that shares our home; for others, it could be a wild animal that we only see on video.
Although we have differences in the animals we appreciate, elephants tend to make it to the list for most people. Not only are they extremely intelligent, but they are also lovable, and that is especially true when they are young.
You need to check out the following video if you need any convincing of that fact. It has been going viral on social media because it is so cute.
You would expect a baby elephant video to show some unusual activity. Perhaps they could be doing something cute that really distinguishes them as a youngster. This little elephant, however, is practicing.
Zander and Stefni Rautenbach are the photographers who captured this video while vacationing in Kruger National Park. There are plenty of wild animals to see in the park, but the little elephant in this video caught their attention.
The elephant was practicing something he would be doing for the rest of his life. He was honing his charging technique, and it's a beautiful thing to see.
Zander wrote about the encounter at the park that they were visiting while on vacation in the video's description. He said: "We always manage to find ourselves in what we like to call an 'elephant roadblock!' We were stationary waiting for a herd of elephant … when this young elephant decided to practice his charging skills! We were impressed with his tenacity and started filming."
Cars were waiting as the little elephant was doing what he does best. He is looking straight at the enemy, which in this case was some poo in the road. He dashes towards it, tramples it, and walks away victorious.
Although this may look like some adolescent behavior, it is actually something that elephants do naturally. When an elephant senses a threat, it will charge.
The juvenile elephant had obviously seen other members of the herd doing this, so he was mimicking it. There may be a time when he needs to protect himself or perhaps some younger elephants, and this will come in handy.
According to the SANP website, the majority of mock charges are broken off before reaching the target. If they follow through, an elephant could easily kill another elephant or even a human. They have also been known to wreck cars.
Fortunately, it was only some dung that paid the price this time.
