Squee-ers, you have been warned: this video of a rare pink baby elephant playing in a waterhole in the South African savannah may just push your heart to burstin’ point.
Earlier this week, the precious albino elephant was filmed having a merry ol’ time with other members of its herd in Kruger National Park. Kruger National Park, South Africa’s first national park, is home to over 11,000 elephants.
First, our hero roughhouses with the other elephants, before scrambling out of the water and into the scrub with only a little bit of help from his peers.
When he posted his video online, the videographer urged viewers to notice how the elephant – with a gestation period of 22 months – is looked after by his herd, despite its difference: “Elephant babies are a huge investment to a herd, no matter what they look like.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nrz1WR6r6uw
Such sightings are reportedly heaps rare – while albinism is quite common in Asian elephants, it occurs much less in African species.
Pink elephants also may be difficult to spot because they’re often caked in thick mud to protect themselves from the sun, which can cause blindness and skin problems.
Albinism may also make it difficult for baby elephants to survive into adulthood, although it has been found that calves like this one are starting to learn to adapt to their condition, by hiding under large trees, covering themselves in mud or walking in the shade of other elephants.
Which gives us hope that this little guy is going to live a full elephant life – from 60 to 70 years usually. Bless that beautiful pink elephant bebé.
