A bull elephant in Botswana’s Nxai Pans National Park was in no mood to wait in line for a drink, assertively pushing past a group of impalas at a watering hole.
The elephant’s sudden entrance startled the impalas, sending them scattering in all directions as he claimed the water.
The scene unfolded in the midday heat, with impalas gatheredaound the park’s only water source. But when the large elephant approached, he made his intentions clear, charging up to the water’s edge and swinging his trunk to clear the area of any other animals.
Photographer Johan Barnard, 50, from Cape Town, South Africa, captured the moment. Reflecting on the incident, Barnard explained, “At midday, the entire area was baking hot, and we watched the animals at the only watering hole for miles. The bull elephant arrived, seemingly uninterested in the impalas initially.”
However, the elephant soon made his intentions clear. “He started swinging his trunk and kicking his legs, almost as if urging the impalas to back away,” Barnard added.
“While he didn’t cause any harm, he ensured the watering hole was all his. It would have seemed quite rude if it had been a human situation.”
This display of dominance left the impalas safely on the sidelines while the elephant enjoyed an undisturbed drink in the sweltering heat.
