A juvenile african elephant mock charging in Tanzania. In a mock charge, there’s a trumpet call, the ears flap, then comes a head toss and a shake. The dust flies off the elephant’s head like a magical plume of dirt. He then kicks the ground and his trunk blows out more dust over his body, making him a magnificent cloudy beast. He rushes forward, head held high, ears spread flat and stops short just metres away. His intention is to gauge how much of a threat you are and hope that it’ll scare you off. And when there’s someone towering over you like this, let’s just say, his intimidation skills are by all accounts, very good. So what then, is a real charge? An elephant’s ears will lie flat against the sides of their head, pinned back, the head lowers in order to position the bridge of his trunk onto its target, and then will sprint towards you- and this time, there’s no stopping them.

圖片編號： 152778971
拍攝者： Calv6304