Fearless Bird Stands Up To A Herd Of Elephants To Protect Its Nest

This big bird’s no chicken.

Footage from Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve shows a solitary crowned crane standing up to a herd of elephants that were getting just a little too close to its nest.

“The elephant seemed rather bemused by the situation and remained curious as to why the bird was flapping its wings,” Tayla McCurdy, who shot the footage, told Latest Sightings, which posted the 2018 video on its YouTube channel earlier this month.

McCurdy said the elephant first tried to brush off the bird with its trunk, then walked away to graze elsewhere. The elephant got a little more annoyed, however, when the bird attempted to menace one of the calves.

“The crowned crane moved off, realizing that there was no longer any danger, leaving the elephant to graze peacefully but keeping a close eye,” she wrote.

Check out the encounter below: