Over the weekend I saw the most amazing video. Or, at least an edited part of a video that’s become a YouTube hit. It’s haunted me ever since.
The Edited for TV Version
The version I saw was edited for time not for content. The video is over seven minutes long, but the clip I saw was less than a minute and some of the most dramatic of the footage.
It showed a pack of lions chasing after a herd of water buffalo. A baby water buffalo gets singled out and a lion tackles it, sending it flying into a river. Here come the rest of the lions to help pull it out, but before they can get the baby water buffalo to stop fighting, a croc grabs the baby water buffalo’s leg.
Next thing the poor little baby water buffalo knows he’s the “rope” in a tug-of-war between the pack of lions and the croc! But somehow the lions prevailed and when the croc let go they dragged the baby up on the bank.
BUT…
Hope was not lost for the little baby water buffalo. Here came his herd back, and after some hesitation one brave water buffalo started bullying the lions. He chased one away, and then I’m not sure if it was him (or maybe even a “her”) that came back and tossed another lion in the air with its horns. (I’m not sure if only male water buffalos have horns or if both male and females do.)
At any rate, that sent the other lions running, and then other members of the water buffalo herd started chasing them. Then, incredibly, the baby water buffalo staggered to his feet and made a run for it.
The YouTube Version
It’s much longer and complete with commentary from whoever took the video. It all started when they noticed the herd of water buffalo heading straight for the pack of lions lying in wait.
Then came the chase and the tackle, but in the YouTube extended version events don’t unfold as tidily as in the edited for TV version. The lions gnaw on the poor baby water buffalo’s neck for quite a while in the river before the crocodile attacked. And then after the croc tug-of-war, when the lions pull the baby onto the bank, the herd doesn’t come right back. The lions had all gathered around and seemed to be enjoying a nice little baby water buffalo feast. I honestly didn’t think it could be the same video or that the baby water buffalo could possibly still be alive.
But he was.
Except…
The Baby Water Buffalo
I can’t get the baby water buffalo out of mind. Even though he got away, he’d had a bunch of teeth in him. Did he ultimately survive his injuries? That’s what I want to know. I hope he did because that would be the ultimate testament to one tough baby! And one dedicated herd.
Watch the Video
Click here to see the YouTube video called “Battle at Kruger.”
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