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Kruger Sightings/YouTube

Baby elephant wants to play with tourists—but mom is not having it

This is an expert job of parenting.

 

Josh Katzowitz

Internet Culture

Posted on Jan 30, 2016   Updated on May 27, 2021, 7:12 am CDT

Baby elephants are nothing if not curious. They’re either trying to figure out why they can’t squeeze themselves into their old bathtubs, refusing to leave their favorite mud spot, or trying to determine why they have such a long nose.

So, when the baby elephant in the video below discovered some tourists, it wanted to investigate. The mother, though, was having none of that.

Nice job of parenting there. The mom didn’t make a big deal out of it—she wasn’t being a hero—but she calmly and effectively redirected her child’s attention elsewhere to steer it potentially out of danger. Now the baby elephant can go back to doing what it does best—playing with birds.Screengrab via Kruger Sightings/YouTube

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*First Published: Jan 30, 2016, 3:56 pm CST