Baby buffalo takes on an enormous elephant and wins proving size REALLY doesn’t matter in the animal kingdom
This is the moment that a brave baby buffalo took on an elephant in a David and Goliath-style savannah battle but managed to scare off the enormous mammal.
In astonishing footage of the encounter the fearless calf proves size doesn’t matter in the animal kingdom as it charges towards the gentle giant.
Rather than protecting her baby the buffalo’s mother is left trailing in the background as the youngster bounds towards the elephant – which is an estimated 20 times larger.
The fearless calf, pictured right, bounds towards the elephant in a bid to scare it away
The gentle giant quickly springs into reverse after being charged by the baby buffalo
The elephant then spins round and runs away after the amazing encounter
After spotting the miniature buffalo the trumpeting animal – which can weigh up to 6,000kg – springs into reverse before spinning around and making a dash in the opposite direction.
The video was captured by financial advisor Andrew Cohen who was visiting Kruger National Park in South Africa for a safari with his partner Candice.
He said that while the elephant could have ‘easily hurt’ the buffalo it appeared that the enormous animal ‘sensed that this was an innocent newborn and that it didn’t mean any harm’.
Andrew, 29, said:’We saw a buffalo cow walking out from behind the bush towards the waterhole and in tow was her brand new little calf following diligently behind her.
‘We then noticed the elephant coming from the left-hand side towards the mum and baby buffalo.
‘It seemed as if he wanted to interact with them both but this baby wasn’t having any of it.
‘As soon as the young buffalo caught a glimpse of the elephant he charged towards him and had the elephant pedalling backwards and trumpeting.
The astonishing footage of the tiny buffalo chasing the elephant was recorded in Kruger National Park in South Africa
After spotting the miniature buffalo the trumpeting elephant springs into reverse
The trumpeting elephant – which can weigh up to 6,000kg – then spins around before making a dash in the opposite direction
‘It was a very special sighting because he could have easily hurt that baby buffalo.
‘It was almost as though he sensed that this was an innocent newborn and that it didn’t mean any harm.
‘Initially, we were shocked because we thought the calf was going to be crushed by the elephant.
‘But as it all unfolded our emotions turned to laughter because of the fact that the elephant just wanted to get away from this little guy.
‘The sighting ended when the elephant ran away into the bush, and the cow and calf also went their separate ways.
‘This must be the best sighting I have ever had in my life. You don’t get to see things like this often at all.
‘It was an amazing highlight as we couldn’t stop talking about it for the rest of the holiday.’
Andrew Cohen, 29, who filmed the encounter, said: ‘It was a very special sighting because he could have easily hurt that baby buffalo’
Andrew Cohen, who filmed the encounter, said that while the elephant could have ‘easily hurt’ the buffalo it appeared that the enormous animal ‘sensed that this was an innocent newborn’
It has long been thought that elephants are scared of smaller creatures – particularly mice.
But in 2010 researchers revealed that their real fear is ants – with the giants of the African savannah steering clear of trees infested with them just in case they crawl up their sensitive trunks.
The experts who made the discovery found ants acted as ‘bodyguards’ for some plants to keep trampling elephants at bay.
Dr Todd Palmer of the Mpala Research Centre in Kenya and the University of Florida said at the time: ‘It really is a David and Goliath type of story, where these little ants are up against these huge herbivores, protecting trees and having a major impact on the properties of the ecosystemsin which they live.
‘Swarming groups of ants that weigh about 5mg each can and do protect trees from animals that are about a billion times more massive,’ Dr Palmer said.
‘It’s yet another example of how the little things run the world.’
The idea that elephants fear mice has long been a staple of cartoons, and features in the 1941 Disney classic Dumbo.
The video of the encounter between the elephant and buffalo proves that size doesn’t matter in the animal kingdom
However, animal behaviourists say there is no evidence of rodent-phobia among any mammal.
The discovery that elephants dislike ants came when Dr Palmer and colleague Dr Jacob Goheen noticed elephants avoiding a species of acacia tree in the Kenyan plains.
The trees are found across the African savanna and are normally devoured and trampledby hungry elephants. However, they stayed away from acacia drepanolobium trees if they were home to guardian ants.
Dr Palmer said: ‘The elephants avoided those trees like a kid avoids broccoli.’
‘It seems that elephants simply do not like ants swarming up the insides of their trunks, and I can’t say I blame them.
‘An elephant’s trunk is a truly remarkable organ, but also appears to be their Achilles heel when it comes to squaring off with an angry ant colony.’
The scientists believe that adding ant colonies to vulnerable plants in Africa could prevent deforestation and protect crops.
Elephants have such large appetites they can soon convert woody areas into open grassland.
‘A big issue in east Africa is elephants damaging crops, which is one reason elephants have been harassed and sometimes killed,’ he added.