7 Animals That Can Kill an Elephant

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00:00 They say no animal stands a snowball's chance in hell against killing a full-grown elephant.

00:06 After all, elephants are one of the most powerful and THE largest land animals on Earth.

00:11 African elephants are the largest of the species.

00:13 It can grow up to 13 feet tall while often weighing well over 6 tons.

00:18 But it's more than sheer power and weight you'd have to put up with to take down one

00:22 of these massive beasts.

00:25 Elephants are also known for their impenetrable skin.

00:28 Their deadly tusks, and yes, sometimes even their speed.

00:33 A few African elephants have been clocked in at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour.

00:38 While they won't outrun a cheetah anytime soon, all things combined, these creatures

00:42 have more than enough to make sure no predator can jump on them.

00:46 Or so we'd like to think.

00:48 Today we're bringing you the few select animals smart and strong enough to take down

00:53 one of these majestic creatures both in groups and sometimes even single-handedly.

00:59 So without further ado, here are 7 animals that can kill an elephant.

01:05 Make sure you stick around for number 1 because it will probably surprise you.

01:10 Number 7 - Tigers Can a 500-pound tiger actually kill an elephant?

01:19 You bet it can.

01:21 While it's not a daily occurrence and requires a pretty skilled and experienced specimen,

01:27 tigers have in fact attacked and killed adult elephants.

01:32 Tigers are known for holding their prey with their forelimbs and biting into the neck of

01:36 their prey.

01:39 But let's not forget the elephant is fantastically bigger and has incredibly thick skin.

01:45 So while tigers do sometimes attack and kill baby elephants, it may take around 3 tigers

01:52 or more to take down a fully grown elephant.

01:56 But while they'll usually go for smaller prey, even single tigers will risk battle against

02:04 full-grown elephants if necessary.

02:08 Back in 2017, tigers killed 6 full-grown elephants in Corella's Wyanad Wildlife Sanctuary which

02:15 were triggered by bitter turf wars over scarce water.

02:20 In 2011, a tiger single-handedly killed a 20-year-old female elephant at the Corbett

02:24 Tiger Reserve.

02:28 So can a tiger kill an elephant?

02:30 Absolutely.

02:31 It's all just a matter of timing and skill.

02:37 Number 6, Crocodiles.

02:42 You might be thinking to yourself, how the heck can flat animal that barely stands off

02:47 the ground pose any kind of threat to a 6-ton creature?

02:53 Would an elephant just stomp down a measly crocodile attack?

02:57 But you'd be surprised what kind of damage a crocodile can do onto an elephant, especially

03:01 when it's on home turf.

03:06 Crocodiles often wait by the shore for drinking elephants, and if the timing's right and they're

03:10 not surrounded by family, they will snap down on their highly vulnerable trunks.

03:18 Once latched on, a crocodile won't easily let go of the elephant.

03:23 However, the elephant is powerful and will usually be able to get away, but their trunk

03:29 can be so heavily damaged that it gets in the way of grazing, drinking or even breathing

03:35 it eventually becomes a death sentence.

03:39 So the crocodile may not be able to feast on its prey, but it does have the ability

03:43 to kill even a full-grown elephant with just the right technique.

03:48 Now, when a young elephant is crossing a river or lake, it could be a whole different story.

03:54 Just check out this footage of a crocodile taking down a baby elephant all on its own.

04:01 Number 5 - Lions If a tiger can kill an elephant, why not

04:08 a lion?

04:11 Lions are in fact elephants' natural-born enemy and pretty skilled at killing them too.

04:17 While it may take 6 or 7 females to kill an adult-sized elephant, adult male lions are

04:23 pretty suited to the task and can do it in as little as 2.

04:28 With enough practice, even a single male can overpower a young elephant.

04:34 In one instance, a male lion at Botswana's Chobe National Park ran at full speed into

04:39 the side of a 6-year-old male calf with sufficient force to collapse the elephant on its side

04:44 and kill it.

04:47 When lions hunt elephants, they usually target babies or females with shorter tusks, and

04:52 they almost always attack from behind.

04:56 They will try and break up the herd and circle around a straggler, then jump onto its back

05:00 and flanks and drag it to the ground.

05:05 They never go for a frontal assault so as to avoid their powerful tusks.

05:11 To defend themselves, elephants often thwart their attacks by bunching together, putting

05:16 the calves in the middle.

05:18 The experienced adults face outwards in a formidable, defensive ring of tusks and trunks.

05:24 It's a bitter fight to watch, but highly skilled lions do come away with a kill every once

05:29 in a while.

05:33 Number 4 - Rhinos Rhinos and elephants often share the same

05:41 territories so it's not uncommon to see a showdown between the two.

05:46 While it's usually an elephant showing a rhino who's boss.

05:50 With enough speed and precision, a rhino may be able to kill an elephant.

05:56 With weights of approximately 6 tons and a height as about 12 feet, elephants are much

06:02 taller and heavier than say a white male rhino, which is typically only 6 feet tall and weighs

06:09 in at a little over 2 tons.

06:12 Now both animals can attack with brute force, have incredible stamina and are equally intelligent,

06:18 which is perhaps why they don't typically fight.

06:22 If however they did, a rhino would possibly have the upper hand.

06:26 A rhino is as often twice as fast.

06:29 With a little more speed and agility at its disposal, a rhino might be able to strike

06:34 first with its incredibly sharp horn made of solid keratines capable of piercing through

06:39 thick elephant skin.

06:42 If a rhino managed to penetrate an elephant's underbelly, it may struggle to recover from

06:46 a direct hit and not survive the incident.

06:51 Keep in mind though, both elephants and rhinos are no meat eaters and will only get into

06:56 fights over territorial disputes, not for food.

07:01 Perhaps if they were hungry meat eaters like lions and tigers, they'd put more skin in

07:05 the game.

07:07 But for now, such kills are highly unusual but nonetheless possible.

07:14 Number 3 Hyenas

07:19 They're not as big or strong as lions or tigers, and they've sure got a laugh on them.

07:26 Most would find it hard to believe a hyena could kill an elephant, but these creatures

07:29 should not be underestimated.

07:34 After all, what they lack in strength, they make up for in smarts.

07:39 Just check out this clip of a hyena taking down a buffalo using a highly skilled technique.

07:45 And while a single hyena may not be able to do much damage to a full grown elephant, a

07:50 whole pack sure could take on a baby elephant.

07:54 Just take a look at this baby elephant who was eaten alive by a pack of hyenas as its

07:58 helpless mother watches after they both got stuck in a mud pit on the plains of Zimbabwe.

08:06 Number 2 Other Elephants

08:11 Now if anyone could seriously kill an elephant, it would probably have to be another elephant,

08:17 right?

08:18 But why would an elephant commit such an atrocity?

08:20 The short answer?

08:22 Mating hormones.

08:25 Or as far as elephants go, this is what's known as a musth.

08:31 A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to both humans and other

08:35 elephants too.

08:38 In zoos, male elephants usually known as friendly creatures become uncontrollably angry while

08:43 in musth and have killed several zookeepers.

08:48 In contrast to normal dominance behavior, male elephants in musth will even attack and

08:53 kill members of their own family, including their own calves.

09:00 Real quick, before you see the final and perhaps most unexpected animal that can kill an elephant,

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09:22 Number 1 Snakes

09:27 If you thought it would take a giant snake, such as a reticulated python or anaconda to

09:32 take down an elephant, you'd be mistaken.

09:36 While these are the largest snakes alive today, they are simply not big enough to kill, let

09:40 alone eat even a baby elephant.

09:44 The reticulated python measuring in at 25 feet is the longest snake on earth and might

09:48 be able to wrap around the elephant's neck once or twice.

09:53 But that's nowhere near enough to suffocate it and would probably feel no more than a

09:56 tight scarf to the thick skin of an elephant.

10:00 However, there is a far smaller snake species known to reliably kill elephants with its

10:05 venom and that's the king cobra.

10:10 A cobra would rarely if ever waste its venom on an elephant as they'd rarely be able to

10:14 eat one.

10:16 The amount of neurotoxin they deliver in a single bite is enough to kill 20 people or

10:21 even a full grown elephant.

10:26 Their venom affects the respiratory centers in the brain, potentially causing respiratory

10:31 arrest and cardiac failure in any creature they bite.

10:36 A large African elephant may be able to tank through a cobra bite, but king cobras have

10:40 managed to kill medium to small Asian elephants by biting them on the trunk, which is the

10:46 only place the skin is thin enough for the snake's fangs to pierce through.

10:52 Like humans, it's no surprise elephants too are afraid of snakes.

10:58 And those were 7 animals that can reliably kill an elephant.

11:03 Do you agree with our picks?

11:04 Let us know in the comments below.

11:06 And if you liked this video, you should definitely check out animals that can defeat a lion.

11:15 See you in the next one.

11:32 (upbeat music)

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