Baby Elephant Stumbles And Falls Through Deep River Crossing

The video shows an adorable baby elephant, stumbling and falling its way through a deep river crossing, trying hard to keep up with the rest of the herd.
Elephants are one of Africa’s great migratory animals. Elephant herds cover huge distances in a year, constantly roaming to areas with food and water as the seasons change. Elephants must face many dangers on their journeys, while navigating difficult terrain such as mountains and deep river crossings filled with crocodiles. No matter what, elephants need to constantly move and no difficulties or obstacles along the way can stop them. Baby elephants in the herds have it the hardest, as they are still learning vital survival skills while facing many challenges for the first time. Baby elephants have no choice but to keep up with the herd. The baby elephant in this video is one good example.

During a safari we stopped to watch a herd of elephants about to cross a river crossing. The river was about half body deep for the adults but for the babies in the herd it was a deep crossing. I started filming, as seeing elephants crossing a river in the wild is always something special to see. I noticed one baby elephant about to follow its mother and the rest of the herd into the river. Focusing on the little elephant, I could see from the first step into the water that the baby elephant was not looking sure footed. Clearly the bottom of the river was uneven, with the baby elephant stumbling and falling every few meters it moved. The baby elephant would have its head dunked under the water a few times looking hilarious at times. With all the stumbling and falling, the baby elephant showed real courage and went all the way to the other side, only very happy to be running back onto dry land, joining its mother. Incredible to see the commitment of the baby elephant to keep up with the rest of the herd, even though it looked funny at times.