Elephant bulls, Fishan & Jabulani in an incredible sparring match of strength and tactics 🐘

Jabulani and Fishan engage in sparring out in the bush, with Fishan using some clever tactics of standing on higher ground but Jabulani not relenting in his challenges!

These two bulls in the herd often spar just like Mambo and Zindoga, with Jabulani managing to push Fishan of this number two ranking on the social ladder among the bulls in the herd. Last year Jabulani took advantage of Fishan’s limp from his now recovered injured leg and has been making sure to keep his rank ever since with frequent bouts of sparring.

This is the reason why the bulls are separated at night in the homestead, to prevent fighting among the rescued herd that could also injure other elephants around them.

This is natural bull behaviour though and even in the blended rescued herd these innate instincts remain.

The bulls use their tusks as tools in this fight and also engage in trunk entwining to get a grip on the other.

Timisa manages to escape the challenge but stays close to a tree she has set her eyes (and stomach) on.

Who are you rooting for in this challenge? While we’re proud of Fishan for not letting his injury get the better of him, we’re also in awe of Jabulani, the original orphan, who has come so far and continues to thrive beautifully in her adoptive herd and wilderness.

While the rescued herd are unusual in that makes and females do-exist in the group, in the wild bulls and cows live and move in separate herds, with the bull herd consisting of older males and young bulls of about 12-15 years or older, when they reach puberty.

They will then start to become more independent until they leave their herd completely, to either roam alone or find a loosely-knit group of male elephants to join.

The bulls in the male herd have only one responsibility, to get big enough to breed. Male elephants seldom mate successfully until they are in their 30’s as larger males will simply chase them away from any receptive cow. They spend their adolescence and young adulthood learning from older, more experienced males.

The wisdom of elders is essential. These older males are important in maintaining discipline in the young bulls who have been known to randomly attack villages and rhinoceroses without provocation during ‘musth’.

Studies have shown that the presence of the much older bulls prevents the youngsters from entering this state of extremely high testosterone levels that is normally associated with a readiness to mate and aggressive behaviour.

Видео Elephant bulls, Fishan & Jabulani in an incredible sparring match of strength and tactics 🐘 канала HERD Elephant Orphanage South Africa