Bull elephants caught on camera in ‘once in a lifetime’ battle

By Leo Black via SWNS

This rare footage shows a "once-in-a-lifetime" fight between a pair of bull elephants as a group of trainee safari guides scramble to safety.

Christopher Schoeman, 29, filmed the extremely rare encounter in Kruger National park, South Africa, on March 16th.

The footage shows the two large bull elephants engaged in a heated battle, knocking over nearby trees.

Professional guide Christopher, 29, who was leading the group of trainees, revealed the fight when on for about 30 minutes.

He said: "The first thing we heard was the sound of smashing tusks. They were going over trees straight in our direction."

The moment was quite tense for Christopher and the trainees, as they were afraid they would get caught up by the violent struggle.

Christopher added: "It's quite an adrenaline rush. I wouldn't put our lives in danger, but when they are fighting like that, they almost don't know you are there.

"I wouldn't say I was fearful for our lives. I can predict elephant behavior quite well, but there's a reason we shot out of there."

He said that the elephants were likely in musth, a period of the year in which males have extraordinarily high levels of testosterone, and get very aggressive.

Christopher said there was likely a breeding herd of elephants nearby, meaning the two large males would have been competing for their attention.

A battle such as this is incredibly rare, and unless you work in the park, or go there regularly, the kind of thing you would only see once in a lifetime.

Christopher said: "I've been in the bush my whole life. You don't often see a fight like that. They went on about 30 minutes.

"Two males don't just see each other and start fighting. You need one of the two factors, musth and a breeding herd nearby. These guys had both.

"For people who are coming up to the park and aren't here regularly this is a once-in-a-lifetime sighting. I've never seen a fight this aggressive before."