As the old saying goes, don't let your mouth write checks your ass can't cash. Assuming you replace the word "mouth" with "giant ears," it's safe to say this baby elephant learned that lesson the hard way.
Wildlife guide Conrad Cramer was at the Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa when he came across a baby elephant lifting his head and flaring his ears at a full-grown African Buffalo. Cramer says this behavior is "typical of an adult elephant when trying to intimidate another animal or human."
Although the baby elephant's tactics might seem adorable to us, as Cramer's pictures demonstrate, the buffalo was not amused.
Luckily, the calf walked away with nothing more than damaged pride. And according to Cramer, even the elephant's relatives agreed that the buffalo was in the right.
"The other elephants were in no way disturbed by the chain of events," Cramer said, adding that they viewed the altercation as a "life lesson that the youngster had to learn." It's too bad more human parents don't have that attitude. ...