Battle at Kruger

"Battle at Kruger" is an amateur wildlife video that depicts an unfolding confrontation between a herd of Cape Buffalo, a small pride of lions, and a pair of crocodiles. The video was shot in September, 2004 at a watering hole in Kruger National Park, South Africa, by videographer David Budzinski and photographer Jason Schlosberg.

After being posted on YouTube in 2007, "Battle at Kruger" became a viral video sensation and was widely praised for its dramatic depiction of wildlife on the African savannah. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6938516.stm "Animal battle video becomes hit"] BBC News, 9 August 2007. Accessed 18 September 2007.] It became one of YouTube's most popular videos, with more than 36 million views and 32,000 comments as of 13 May 2008, [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM Battle at Kruger] , YouTube.com. Accessed 4 November 2007.] and won the Best Eyewitness Video in the 2nd Annual YouTube Video Awards. [ [http://www.youtube.com/ytawards07winners 2nd Annual YouTube Awards Winners] , YouTube.com. Accessed 4 April 2008.] The video was also the subject of an article in the June 25 2007 issue of "Time" magazine, ["A little help from his friends". (June 25 2007). "Time", Vol. 169, No. 26, pg. 47.] and was featured in the first episode of ABC News' "i-Caught", which aired on August 7 2007. A National Geographic documentary on the video debuted on the National Geographic Channel on May 11, 2008. [cite news |first=Drew |last=Millhon |title=Video Captures Animal Battle for Survival |url=http://www.abcnews.go.com/icaught/story?id=3418552&page=1 |publisher=ABC News Internet Ventures |date=2007-08-01|accessdate=2007-08-08]

Current TV's "infoMania" took a [http://current.com/items/88958813_viral_video_film_school humorous look at the video] , as part of their weekly segment [http://current.com/search/search.do?indexName=en_us&renderer=jsp&q=viral+video+film+school&x=0&y=0i Viral Video Film School] , in May, 2008.

Background information

Taken from a vehicle on the opposite side of the watering hole with a digital camcorder, [A Canon ZR50MC MiniDV, as reported in [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/10/arts/television/10kruger.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5087&em&en=8457d49e0d39ce63&ex=1210564800 "You’ve Seen the YouTube Video; Now Try the Documentary"] , "The New York Times," May 10, 2008.] the video begins with the herd of buffalo approaching the water, unaware of the lions resting nearby. The lions charge and disperse the herd, picking off a young buffalo and unintentionally knocking it into the water while attempting to make a kill. While the lions try to drag the buffalo out of the water, it is grabbed by a crocodile, who fights for it before giving up and leaving it to the lions. The lions sit down and prepare to eat, but are quickly surrounded by the massively reorganized buffalo, who move in and begin charging and kicking at the lions. After a battle which sees one lion being tossed into the air by a buffalo, the baby buffalo—still alive, to the astonishment of the onlookers—escapes into the herd. The emboldened buffalo then proceed to chase the remaining lions away. [Bobbie Johnson , [http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2145733,00.html "10m viewers for YouTube phenomenon"] , "The Guardian", 10 August, 2007. Accessed 18 September, 2007.]

Expert commentary

Two veterinarians and animal behaviorists interviewed by "Time" assert that the behavior exhibited by the buffalo is not unusual. Dr. Sue McDonnell of the University of Pennsylvania (School of Veterinary Medicine) [ [http://www3.vet.upenn.edu/labs/equinebehavior/Bios/smm_bio.htm Sue McDonnell PhD] (Profile), University of Pennsylvania. Accessed 18 September 2007.] said of the video:

"The larger herd is broken down into smaller harems, with a dominant male and several females and their babies. If a youngster is threatened, both the harem males and bachelor males—which usually fight with one another—will get together to try to rescue it." [Jeffrey Kluger, [http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1630667,00.html "When Animals Attack — and Defend"] , "Time", 7 June 2007. Accessed 18 September 2007.]

It is, however, rare for such events to be captured on film even by professional wildlife photographers. Indeed Dereck Joubert, a photographer and writer [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/83/Dereck-Joubert.html Dereck Joubert Biography (1956-)] , filmreference.com. Accessed 18 September 2007.] for "National Geographic" said of the video:

"There is no doubt at all that the tourist who shot that scene […] was unbelievably lucky. I mean, we would've considered ourselves lucky to have had that whole scene happen in front of us." [Drew Millhon, [http://www.abcnews.go.com/icaught/Story?id=3418552&page=2 "Video Captures Animal Battle for Survival"] , ABC News, 1 August 2007. Accessed 14 July 2008.]

References

External links

* [http://www.battleatkruger.com/ Official Battle at Kruger website]
* [http://www.negativespace.com NegativeSpace.com - Home to The Battle at Kruger photos captured by Jason Schlosberg]
* [http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1630667,00.html "Time" Magazine article about the video]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6938516.stm BBC article]
* [http://www.asterpix.com/console?avi=7660461 Interactive Hyper Video of Battle at Kruger with wikipedia links]
* [http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/caught-on-safari-battle-at-kruger-3568/Overview Battle at Kruger material] on "NationalGeographic.com" website (retrieved May 12, 2008)
* [http://current.com/items/88958813_viral_video_film_school infoMania parody of the YouTube video] (retrieved May 22, 2008)