Winter in the bush is harsh on many animals, especially elephants. Elephants require close to 100 liters of water per day, so when there isn’t much water around, elephants become highly stressed out and their behavior changes drastically.
On this particular afternoon, in the dry, open areas that surround the Mopani Rest Camp in Kruger National Park, this bull elephant was desperately searching for water. The natural pans of water that are normally present during the rainy season have all dried up. That means the only source of water is the man-made waterholes that are scattered among the Mopani thickets.
As the elephant approached the waterhole, he noticed that he was not the only one that was here. A lone buffalo had also decided to come down to the water to drink and was now just minding his own business, sitting some way away from the waterhole. But the elephants already had heightened stress levels, and their desperation to drink triggered a nerve!
The elephant pushed and shoved the buffalo until the buffalo was pinned down. That’s when the elephant took it to the next level; it didn’t stop there. The elephant took a step back, lined the buffalo up, and, with all its force, charged the buffalo with its tusks.
