This Baby Elephant Has a Whole Herd of Bodyguards

Continue reading...

We often use the term “Mama Bear” to describe a fierce and loving mother. But while bears are certainly great mothers, few animals are as protective as elephants. As this video shows, an entire herd of elephants will even face down a dangerous tiger to defend a baby elephant!

Elephant Relationships

Elephants are incredibly social animals, living and thriving in close-knit families and herds led by the most experienced female. In this matriarchal society, the family — composed of aunts, grandmothers, mothers, daughters, and sisters — cares for one another and works together to survive. Their greatest joy and responsibility, however, is caring for the herd’s young elephant calves.

Baby elephants can walk within hours of birth, but they are otherwise quite helpless and completely dependent on their mothers. The bond between an elephant mother and her calf is one of the strongest relationships in the animal kingdom. Each member of the herd also cherishes the calves, helping to raise, protect, and teach them as they grow.

How Elephants Protect Their Young

Young elephants are kept at the center of the herd, especially when danger is near. When facing a threat, the larger, older elephants quickly form a tight circle around the young ones, creating a protective wall. Like the elephants in the video above, they may trumpet, stomp, and even charge.

While elephants are not inherently violent, their protective instincts are ferocious. A mother elephant will do anything and everything to protect her calf. Given their immense size and strength, elephants can inflict a lot of damage if the need arises. The tiger in the video above was fortunate to escape; had it continued, it might have faced significant danger from the protective elephants. A single adult elephant poses a deadly threat to a tiger, and an entire herd is nearly invincible.

Although tigers typically avoid elephants, they may occasionally attempt to prey on young calves. Tigers are fast and agile, have powerful bites, and can target vulnerable areas if they can get past the elephants’ defenses. However, such attempts are rarely successful, as the herd acts as an impenetrable wall of powerful, thick-skinned bodies. An elephant (and certainly a herd of elephants) has the potential to seriously injure or even kill the most experienced tiger.