Oh man. This was way more intense than I thought it would be.
The crew set up camp on the Hoanib River in the far north-west of Namibia with the aim of filming natural behaviour.
“[Guide and driver] Paul and I knew where we should be to stand the best chance of getting the most giraffes in the best location,” Mr Colbeck told BBC Nature.
“We also knew that we would have to follow them all day, every day to stand a chance of getting a fight.”
The filmmakers’ “lucky break” came in the form of a female giraffe in oestrous: signalling her readiness to mate with any males in the vicinity.
Two males arrived competing for her attention. Their rivalry soon escalated into a physical fight.
“Paul and I have seen a lot of interesting animal behaviour in the remote deserts of Namibia, but neither of us had seen anything like this fight. And we are unlikely to see it ever again I suspect.”
Stick with this one all the way through. As Noah Gray notes, the ending is straight out of Rocky.
It’s all in the neck, you guys.
(HT: Noah Gray)
