Watch the heart-wrenching moment a mom and baby waterbuck swim across a strongly flowing river, when the calf can’t put up with the strength of the rapids. The mother doesn’t even realize the situation until it is too late.
This sad sighting was caught on film when Dave Pusey, a guide for Leo Vantage Safaris, spotted the pair of waterbuck at the bridge inside Mjejane Game Reserve over the Crocodile River.
“In the summer season, the Kruger National Park’s rivers can rise rather rapidly with rains further inland. The rising waters caused this mother Waterbuck to get stranded on an island with her very young calf, along the Crocodile River, in Mjejane Game Reserve.” Says Dave.
After sharing this incredibly intense video with LatestSightings.com, Dave told us what happened:“The mother decided that she needed to get to the southern bank to get herself and her baby to safety before the water-level rose even more. She started crossing the river, not very concerned about her calf, and continued to the other side!”
“The calf soon followed after its mother, fighting to swim against the current and finally got washed away by the water under the bridge.”
WATCH:
“Luckily the calf managed to climb out of the water back onto a rocky island on the other side of the bridge. We are not sure whether the little calf survived the night on the island as it wasn’t there the next morning. We really hope the courageous calf made it across to its mom once it had some energy back.”
