ViralWorld

Battle at Kruger

You might remember it as buffalo lions crocodile, Kruger buffalo fight video

Viral classics7 of 40

2007·Early YouTube

Amateur safari footage that became one of the most-watched and most-written-about videos of the early YouTube years.

At a glanceThe facts

Remembered as
buffalo lions crocodile
Spread in
2007
Format
Video
Era
Early YouTube
Made by
David Budzinski, who filmed it, with the photographer Jason Schlosberg, on a safari guided by Frank Watts
Where
Transport Dam, Kruger National Park, South Africa
Recorded
September 2004
Origin
Origin not yet established
Available
Playable from the source

Why it matteredWhat changed

A tourist’s eight minutes at a watering hole showed something wildlife film-makers rarely catch. A professional called the man who filmed it unbelievably lucky, and National Geographic built a documentary around his footage.

TimelineIn order

  1. Made

    David Budzinski films lions taking a buffalo calf at a watering hole, crocodiles pulling at it from the water, and the herd coming back to drive the lions off. The calf gets away.1

  2. Posted

    The footage is uploaded to YouTube, more than two and a half years after it was shot.1

  3. Picked up

    Time magazine writes about the video.1

  4. Mainstream

    ABC News features it in the first episode of its programme i-Caught.1

  5. Mainstream

    A documentary about the footage is first shown on the National Geographic Channel.1

What people misrememberSet straight

Commonly remembered asFilmed in 2007.

ActuallyIt was filmed in September 2004 and uploaded in May 2007.1

Commonly remembered asThe lions win.

ActuallyThe buffalo do. The herd regroups, surrounds the lions and drives them off one at a time, and the calf walks away.1

LegacyWhat it left behind

More from hereIn this collection

Why it is here: something the internet still knows by name · a moment that changed what the internet did next · it got out of its own corner of the internet fast · still being watched and quoted years later · the upload that made its maker known

This is the copy ViralWorld can show you. Whether it is the first is not established.

Where it came fromWhat we know

Original source uncertain. This is the earliest copy currently known.

View this upload on YouTube

No original upload has been established for this record. The index is showing the earliest copy it currently knows about, and says so rather than guessing.

Created by David Budzinski. Established by research, not by who posted the copy shown here.

Where
Known on YouTube.

More from 2007You were there

SourcesWhat was read

  1. Wikipedia — Battle at Kruger

Sources last read on . That date is about the history on this page. Whether the media still plays is checked separately and can change any day. How ViralWorld documents things

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