The crowned crane is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List and is protected by law in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Kenya. These birds are highly territorial, especially when with their chicks, and can become quite aggressive when defending their territory.
However, when it comes to size, this crane doesn’t seem to be intimidated. In fact, it took on a herd of elephants!
This amazing sighting was captured by WildEarth’s SafariLive show and shared with LatestSightings.com. WildEarth streams live safaris every day from the Greater Kruger and other reserves. In this episode, Tayla McCurdy, the presenter, narrates the experience.
Tayla McCurdy from South Africa came across a unique sighting in Maasai Mara. A crowned crane had some eggs in an open area when a herd of elephants tried to walk through, grazing on water plants that resemble grass.
“I cannot say for sure if this is a male or female crowned crane, as both genders sit on the nest during breeding season. The crane jumped to the defense of the unborn chicks, as the mother took on the elephants!”
“The elephant seemed rather bemused by the situation and remained curious as to why the bird was flapping its wings. Various alarm calls did, in fact, seem to work at the beginning, as the bird kept launching forward, flapping wings and calling in defense of its nest. Eventually, the elephant became rather irritated and tried to push the bird away with its trunk before wandering off, leaving the eggs unharmed.”
