On October 8, guide Andrew Mwanza discovered the carcass of an elephant lying on top of a crocodile on the banks of the Luangwa River near Kafunta Safaris camp. The reptile’s long tail poked out from behind the elephant’s hind legs. Dozens of vultures and other scavengers were flying around. The tour company shared a series of photos on Facebook and commented that the pose was “extremely weird”.
Both the elephant and the crocodile appear to be small, judging by their body size. Zambia National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) and South Luangwa Conservation NGO staff have ruled out poaching because no bullet holes were found on its body.
The Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) is very common in the Luangwa River. They often hunt elephants swimming across the river or drinking at the river’s edge. Adult crocodiles can be up to 6 meters long and weigh 748 kg, according to National Geographic. In contrast, adult African elephants (Loxodonta africana) weigh between 2,268 and 6,350 kilograms, so crocodiles generally avoid attacking healthy adult elephants, said Marisa Tellez, co-founder of the Crocodile Research Alliance and a Research at the Institute of Marine Science of the University said. California, Santa Barbara.
“From the pictures, this adult crocodile is quite small and I believe it was trying to attack an injured adult elephant. That effort seems to require a lot of effort for a tiny predator. and not in its favor. Of course, there are brave crocodiles.” Hunters chase prey that is too large for them. I also wonder if this is a small female alligator trying to stop the elephant from stepping on its nest,” Tellez said.
Crocodiles tend to target young, sick, or injured elephants. The elephant in the photo may have been sick or injured by a lion attack before encountering the crocodile. Crocodiles are ambush predators. Agata Staniewicz, the crocodile researcher at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol, UK, said that when attacking an elephant, they often bite the vulnerable body.
“A healthy adult elephant (sometimes with the help of a whole herd) can fend off crocodiles, although it is vulnerable to serious injuries to its trunk,” said Staniewicz. “However, a sick or injured elephant may not be strong enough to fight back.”
After struggling with an opponent in the water, the elephant may have collapsed from injury or exhaustion and fallen on top of the crocodile, causing it to die from being crushed. Although the battle did not go well for both elephants and crocodiles, many scavengers benefited from the resulting carcass.