Young elephant hilariously tumbles down river bank

Watching elephants in the wild is always a special experience and many times they surprise you with some of the most entertaining behaviour, just like in this video, showing a young elephant falling head over heels down a river bank. It was during a safari in the Kruger National Park when we came across a herd of elephants on the banks of a dry river bed. The elephants were slowly making their way along the top of the river bank, giving us an amazing opportunity to view them from close by. Part of elephants in the herd slowly started making their way down a steep river bank, into the dry river bed in order to cross to the other side. While the first few elephants slowly managed themselves down the steep river bank, some elephants found it a little more challenging getting down, leading to the most awkward but hilarious looking elephant movements. This was very entertaining to watch and I grabbed my camera and started filming with the hope that the other elephants in line might be just as entertaining with their efforts to get down the river bank. One adult elephant took the approach of sliding its front legs down the river bank first, with its hind feet remaining up on the river bank, hind legs stretched out backwards. I was amazed by how flexible these giant animals actually were and the incredibly awkward body positions they can get themselves into. Slowly the elephant got its one hind leg down from the river bank and then the other one, making it look fairly easy and efficient at the same time. Right behind the adult elephant was a young elephant observing every move. It was the young elephant’s turn to get down and I was wondering if the youngster would be able to follow the example of the adult elephant. The young elephant got to the edge of the river bank when it paused and shook its head, getting ready for its attempt down the river bank. The young elephant then slowly went down on its hind legs, looking to follow the same approach as the previous adult elephant. The young elephant was sitting down for a few seconds, contemplating the next move. Then the young elephant took us all by surprise when it suddenly decided that its front legs were too short to slide down and instead came up with a very creative and funny looking move. The young elephant just decided to go head over heels down the river bank, hoping for a soft landing in the sand. It was hilarious to watch the elephant rolling down the river bank in such a manner. Even though it was not the most efficient looking way of getting down, the young elephant managed to get down in its own fashion, landing on its side before getting back onto its feet. The young elephant continued to cross the dry river bed with the rest of the herd. We left the sight of the elephants feeling totally overjoyed by what we just saw and with a big smile on everyone’s faces. Definitely a sight to remember.