Baby elephants are just as playful as human children, and it seems they also enjoy games which involve getting one over on their siblings.
One mischievous baby elephant wasn’t going to let his comparatively small stature stop him from showing his big brother who the boss really was.
Spotting his bro at a muddy riverbank in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, the big-eared baby went to tackle him; jumping on his back and looking pleased as punch with himself.
Hilariously, the silly calf slipped and landed on his bottom in shallows, before getting up for round two…
Back on his four adorable feet, the cheeky little elephant pounced once more on his patient older brother; appearing to challenge him to a muddy wrestling match.
The big brother shook him off after it was clear he would just not quit. He then decided to get his own back, leaping on top of the littler elephant.
Their mum then decided to chime in and break up the brotherly competition. If she could have put them both in separate naughty corners then I’m sure she would have done.
The sweet moment was captured by an amused human, who couldn’t help but melt at the sight of the playful little elephants:
When you find baby elephants anywhere near water or mud it is always worth it to stop and observe them for a while. Majority of the time it turns out to be a very entertaining sighting and enough to make anyone smile.
It was in the Kruger National Park where we came across such a scenario. A small herd of elephants was swimming in a river and amongst them were two very playful baby elephant brothers.
They added:
The smaller one of the two was clearly in a playful mood and attempted to jump on the back of his bigger brother. Suddenly he slipped and fell back into the shallow water, flat on his bum.
The little elephant adamantly got up again and decided to take on his bigger brother in a mud wrestling match. The baby elephant pushed over his brother and immediately jumped on top of him.
The baby elephant adamantly wrestled his brother from above until he eventually got shrugged off. The bigger brother decided to retaliate and jumped on top if his young brother in return. The wrestling match came to an abrupt end when their mother stepped in to separate the two.
Baby and grown-up elephants alike love nothing more than to bask in a nice pool of mud, for pleasure and practicality.
Mud keeps elephants cool and protects their surprisingly sensitive skin; helping to shield them from UV rays and insect bites.
Play fighting is also an important part of a young elephant’s day. According to Africa Geographic:
From a relatively early age, young male elephants in the same herd will interact with each other and ‘tussle’. As they get older they will play-fight and as different families intermingle, they will spar with other young males of a similar age from the other families.
They learn their own strength, build knowledge and develop the skill set they will need as mature males.
There is really nothing quite as cute as a baby elephant at play, especially when he thinks he’s being so big and tough.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.