This is the moment a young elephant was sent flying after unwisely attempting to intimidate a huge buffalo bull.
The over-confident calf was among a herd of elephants refreshing themselves at the Spekboom lagoon in Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa when the mature buffalo walked towards the water to join them.
While the adult elephants seemingly paid little attention to their new drinking partner, the calf was clearly put out by his presence – charging towards him in the bizarre hope that his tiny frame would somehow scare the massive buffalo into leaving the area.
Needless to say, the bull wasn’t intimidated in the slightest and casually waited until the young elephant was within striking range before shoving him with his huge horned head. The poor calf was thrown several feet into the air before crashing back down on to the South African savanna.
The whole sorry incident, which took place in March this year, was caught on camera by local wildlife guide Conrad Cramer.
Mr Cramer said that although the calf’s pride was undoubtedly hurt, he escaped physical injury and spent the rest of the day hiding behind his mother.
‘What surprised me was that the other elephants were in no way disturbed by the chain of events, but rather seemed to see it as a life lesson that the youngster had to learn,’ Mr Cramer said.
