We all know kids love to play around with each other, and it seems no different in the elephant kingdom.
Captured in these incredible pictures, four baby elephants stack up as soon as they’re away from their mother for a while.
The ‘tiny’ giants weighing up to 300kg used to drink water as their mother cooled off before deciding to hang out.
The photos were taken on the banks of the Ghwarrie Dam in Addo Elephant National Park, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Once the mother saw the children playing rough, she ran to break up the fun before someone got hurt.
Captured by Ayesha Cantor while out for a day trip, she said:
“We had been sitting at the dam for over an hour, watching different family groups come in for a drink and have fun, then leave.”
“We had just decided to leave when I just happened to turn around for one last look and quickly called for my husband to stop again when I saw two youngsters who appeared to be having a deep conversation – another photo turned into a herd of elephants .”
“I have heard and seen two babies play in such a short time but never four and over such a long period of time.”
“Just like children, they test their boundaries. Play teaches them their boundaries and how to behave within their family group. ”
“For us, we saw exactly how humans play, very funny and so playful. It’s amazing to see wild animals enjoying themselves in this way.”
“Having been near the bottom of a human pile-on, you can be sure I’m so pleased it’s not that little Ellie at the bottom of this particular one.”
Discussion about this post