Cheeky elephant calf caught on camera throwing a tantrum
As with most tantrums that happen at this stage, it happened suddenly.
Springs resident Antonio ‘Tony’ da Cruz’s pictures of an elephant calf throwing a tantrum at the Kruger National Park have gone viral.
Readers were amazed to see the pictures on the British tabloid, Daily Mail.
When asked how his pictures landed up on the site, da Cruz says he had posted the series of pictures in a Kruger Wildlife Facebook page, and it was picked up by the publication.
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“I’m really pleased that some of my experiences in the bush can be enjoyed by people at large that perhaps will not get the opportunity to experience these sightings first hand,” says da Cruz of his pictures.
As with most tantrums that happen at the terrible two’s stage, it happened suddenly.
“Our presence seemed to have stimulated the behaviour, almost as if he was saying ‘this is my road, stay away.’
“We drove down the road towards them and the adults moved off the road and the baby dropped down and started a flailing tantrum.
“It lasted about five minutes,” says da Cruz.
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When the calf noticed the mother wasn’t paying attention and walking into the bush, “he quickly got up, gave us a stare and then chased after her,” says da Cruz.
For Cruz, the pictures were not a surprise as he has spent a lot of time looking for behavioural wildlife photography and enjoys wildlife photography, especially Raptors in flight (eagles, Hawks, etc).
The 57-year-old, who is also the CEO of a local security company, says he tries to get to the parks every month for a week of wildlife photography when it is possible and describes it as phase one of a career transition.
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