as small as a world and as large as alone

8:10am January 10, 2014

wildeles:

Four Baby Elephants Play & Pile on Top of Each Other

The youngsters’ playtime soon turned into some rough and tumble - much to the annoyance of their mother

It may look cute, but you wouldn’t want to be at the bottom of this pile-up.

Four playful baby elephants, weighing up to 300kg each, piled on top of each other in Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa.

The African elephants had been sipping water on the banks of the Ghwarrie Dam, as their mother cooled off.

But just like their human counterparts, the youngsters’ playtime soon turned into some rough and tumble - much to the annoyance of their mother.

She swiftly marched in to break up the bundle, before the poor tyke at the bottom was injured.

They were photographed by Ayesha Cantor during a day trip to the park.

Ayesha said: “We had been sitting at the dam for over an hour, watching the various family groups coming in to drink and play and then moving off.

“We had just decided to move off when I just happened to glance back for a last look and quickly called out for my husband to stop again when I saw the two youngsters seemingly deep in conversation – one more picture turned into the elephant bundle.

"I’ve heard and seen two babies briefly playing but never four and over such a long period of time as this.

"Just like children, they test their boundaries, play teaches them to know their boundaries and how to behave within their family group.

"It looked to us exactly how humans play, so playful and so fun. Amazing to see  wild animals enjoying themselves  in this way.”

But Ayesha admitted she wouldn’t have wanted to be the elephant at the bottom of the pile, adding: “Having been near the bottom of a human pile-on you can be sure I was very pleased not to be that baby ellie at the bottom of this particular one.”

This is the link to the photo gallery with these adorable photos.

245 notes