Battle at Kruger
Encyclopedia
Battle at Kruger is an eight-minute amateur wildlife video that depicts an unfolding confrontation between a herd of Cape buffalo, a small pride of lion
s, and one or two crocodile
s. The video was shot in September 2004 at the Transport Dam watering hole
in Kruger National Park
, South Africa
, during a Safari guided by Frank Watts. It was filmed by videographer David Budzinski and photographer Jason Schlosberg.
After being posted on YouTube
on 3 May 2007, Battle at Kruger received 21 million views and became a viral video
sensation and was widely praised for its dramatic depiction of wildlife on the African savannah
. It became one of YouTube's most popular videos, with more than 60 million views and 79 thousand comments , and won the Best Eyewitness Video in the 2nd Annual YouTube Video Awards. The video was also the subject of an article in the 25 June 2007 issue of Time
magazine, and was featured in the first episode of ABC News
' i-Caught
, which aired on 7 August 2007. A National Geographic documentary on the video debuted on the National Geographic Channel
on 11 May 2008.
, the video begins with the herd of buffalo approaching the water. Upon seeing the lions, the buffalo flee and the lions charge and disperse the herd, picking off a young buffalo and unintentionally knocking it into the water while attempting to make a kill. While the lions try to drag the buffalo out of the water, it is grabbed by a crocodile, who fights for it before giving up and leaving it to the lions. The lions sit down and prepare to eat, but are quickly surrounded by the massively reorganized buffalo, who move in and begin charging and kicking at the lions. After a battle which sees one lion being tossed into the air by a buffalo, the baby buffalo—still alive, to the astonishment of the onlookers—escapes into the herd. The emboldened buffalo then proceed to chase the remaining lions away.
assert that the behavior exhibited by the buffalo is not unusual. Dr. Sue McDonnell of the University of Pennsylvania
(School of Veterinary Medicine
) said of the video:
It is, however, rare for such events to be captured on film even by professional wildlife photographers. Indeed Dereck Joubert, a photographer and writer for National Geographic
said of the video:
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
s, and one or two crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
s. The video was shot in September 2004 at the Transport Dam watering hole
Depression (geology)
A depression in geology is a landform sunken or depressed below the surrounding area. Depressions may be formed by various mechanisms.Structural or tectonic related:...
in Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers and extends from north to south and from east to west.To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, during a Safari guided by Frank Watts. It was filmed by videographer David Budzinski and photographer Jason Schlosberg.
After being posted on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
on 3 May 2007, Battle at Kruger received 21 million views and became a viral video
Viral video
A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
sensation and was widely praised for its dramatic depiction of wildlife on the African savannah
Savannah
Savannah or savanna is a type of grassland.It can also mean:-People:* Savannah King, a Canadian freestyle swimmer* Savannah Outen, a singer who gained popularity on You Tube...
. It became one of YouTube's most popular videos, with more than 60 million views and 79 thousand comments , and won the Best Eyewitness Video in the 2nd Annual YouTube Video Awards. The video was also the subject of an article in the 25 June 2007 issue of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine, and was featured in the first episode of ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
' i-Caught
I-Caught
i-CAUGHT is an ABC News newsmagazine program hosted by Bill Weir which ran from August 7 to September 11, 2007 at 10:00 PM ET. Originally a midseason project, the series aired during the Summer and briefly aired in Australia on the Nine Network....
, which aired on 7 August 2007. A National Geographic documentary on the video debuted on the National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
on 11 May 2008.
Background
Taken from a small vehicle on the opposite side of the watering hole with a digital camcorderCamcorder
A camcorder is an electronic device that combines a video camera and a video recorder into one unit. Equipment manufacturers do not seem to have strict guidelines for the term usage...
, the video begins with the herd of buffalo approaching the water. Upon seeing the lions, the buffalo flee and the lions charge and disperse the herd, picking off a young buffalo and unintentionally knocking it into the water while attempting to make a kill. While the lions try to drag the buffalo out of the water, it is grabbed by a crocodile, who fights for it before giving up and leaving it to the lions. The lions sit down and prepare to eat, but are quickly surrounded by the massively reorganized buffalo, who move in and begin charging and kicking at the lions. After a battle which sees one lion being tossed into the air by a buffalo, the baby buffalo—still alive, to the astonishment of the onlookers—escapes into the herd. The emboldened buffalo then proceed to chase the remaining lions away.
Expert commentary
Two veterinarians and animal behaviorists interviewed by TimeTime (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
assert that the behavior exhibited by the buffalo is not unusual. Dr. Sue McDonnell of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
(School of Veterinary Medicine
Veterinary medicine
Veterinary Medicine is the branch of science that deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, disorder and injury in non-human animals...
) said of the video:
"The larger herd is broken down into smaller harems, with a dominant male and several females and their babies. If a youngster is threatened, both the harem males and bachelor males—which usually fight with one another—will get together to try to rescue it."
It is, however, rare for such events to be captured on film even by professional wildlife photographers. Indeed Dereck Joubert, a photographer and writer for National Geographic
National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic, formerly the National Geographic Magazine, is the official journal of the National Geographic Society. It published its first issue in 1888, just nine months after the Society itself was founded...
said of the video:
"There is no doubt at all that the tourist who shot that scene [...] was unbelievably lucky. I mean, we would've considered ourselves lucky to have had that whole scene happen in front of us."
External links
- Official Battle at Kruger website
- Photos captured by Jason Schlosberg
- Battle at Kruger material on NationalGeographic.com website (retrieved 12 May 2008)
- Guide Frank Watts gives eye-witness account of the 'Battle at Kruger