Watch An Aggressive Bull Elephant Toss a Little One Into the Air

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Not all animals of the same species get along. We might think that that sounds like a bit of an oxymoron. However, if we can think of people, we know that they always don’t get along either. So, imagining that animals of the same species don’t get along isn’t necessarily that far-fetched.

However, what may seem odd to us is that the animals of the same species that aren’t getting along in this video happened to be an adult and a baby.

Now, this might pique your interest enough to finish this blog post. 

In this wild video shown below, we see an adult bull elephant picking a fight with a young one. Now, for clarification’s sake, let’s take a look at what a bull elephant is. 

What Is a Bull Elephant?

A bull elephant is another phrase for a full-grown adult male. Females would just be referred to as cows. According to the Mala Mala game reserve, they have this to say about the size of a bull elephant and his female partner.

“An adult bull elephant can weigh between 5,000kg and 6,300kg (14,000lb), standing 3.2m to 4m (13ft) at the shoulder. A cow is slightly smaller, weighing 2,800kg to 3,500kg (7,700lb) and standing 2.5m to 3.4m at the shoulder. Bulls usually have larger tusks than cows and a more rounded forehead; the cow is more angled.”

At the start of this video shown above, we see a herd of elephants all roaming around. We see a caravan of vehicles that have stopped along this safari tour to see what these large land animals will do. It’s not long before we see a wee baby elephant walking in front of an enormous bull elephant. For whatever reason, this bull elephant is annoyed with the baby elephant in front of him.

Most likely because this baby elephant was in his way, and apparently, walking around this baby elephant was too difficult. So, instead, we see this bull elephant pick this baby up with ease and toss him into the air!

With a thud, we hear the sound of this baby elephant hitting the ground. This was not enough playing for this large bull. We see him continually pushing this young elephant around. Given the size and strength of this bull, it is no surprise that this baby elephant was tossed around like he was nothing. 

Is It Normal Behavior For Bulls To Attack Baby Elephants?

The small size of the baby elephant probably made it smell like its mom, which confused and upset the older male elephant. Male elephants become sexually active when they’re around 40 to 50 years old. It seems that the baby’s mother had swollen breasts because she was nursing it.

Elephants are the only animals that go through a special period called “musth,” during which they act differently.

Sometimes, male elephants can harm other males or even young calves to control the population. In this case, the male elephant was probably in musth when he flung the baby elephant.