After practicing rutting against it, a clumsy antelope managed to get a large elephant head hooked on its antlers. Andrew Schofield, a retired ecologist, and his wife Simone, both 64, were on a trip to South Africa’s Addo Elephant National Park in October when they came upon the huge kudu.
The massive beast shoved a big elephant s.k.u.l.l with its head down, simulating strength tests it would ordinarily undergo against other male kudus. After rutting against it for practice, a clumsy antelope managed to get a large elephant s.k.u.l.l trapped on its antlers.
Andrew Schofield, a retired ecologist, and his wife Simone, both 64, observed the huge kudu in distress. The pair spotted the strange scene when visiting South Africa’s Addo Elephant National Park in October.
However, its antlers fell into the eye sockets of the s.k.u.l.l, allowing the massive bones to glide down the horns and rest on the startled animal’s head. In a desperate attempt to free itself, the kudu tossed its head around for five minutes before ultimately throwing the s.k.u.l.l over its back and fleeing the situation.
‘I’ve seen kudus rip trees and stumps, but never with an elephant s.k.u.l.l like this,’ Andrew, from Cape Town, said. I also forwarded it to others of my former coworkers, who had never seen anything like it before.
The gigantic beast pushed a giant elephant s.k.u.l.l down as it bowed its head to imitate strength testing. Its antlers accidently sank into the eye sockets of the s.k.u.l.l, forcing the massive bones to slide down the horns.’
In a desperate bid to free itself, the kudu swung its head about for five minutes in an unsuccessful attempt to remove the s.k.u.l.l. ‘I have never heard of anything like this happening in my 46 years of working and monitoring bush creatures.’ It was an out-of-the-blue occurrence.
It lowered its head and shifted the s.k.u.l.l about. His antlers slid neatly into the eye sockets of the s.k.u.l.l, and he had it stuck on his head. He was at a loss for what to do. I honestly believed we’d have to obtain a dart gun and assist in freeing the s.k.u.l.l.’
‘He was shaking it off for approximately five minutes before throwing it over his back.’ He was terrified when it touched the ground and bolted. It eventually threw the s.k.u.l.l over its back and bolted once free of the situation.
The antelope usually ruts with other male kudus, competing for females with their antlers. Andrew and Simone, both from Cape Town, claimed they’d never seen anything like it in their 46 years of animal observation. They drop their heads down and push each other backwards and forwards to see how strong they are against other kudus.’
‘This one pressed its head on the elephant’s s.k.u.l.l, which is something they usually do with another male or a shrub.’ As a retired biologist, I and Simone are big fans of animals. During our vacation, we visited three national parks.’
