Video Captures Animal Battle for Survival

Aug. 1, 2007 — -- One of the founders of YouTube has called it his favorite video on the site. It has accumulated more than 7 million hits since it was posted in May, but it has nothing to do with an intoxicated celebrity, a disgraced politician or someone's public humiliation.

It's the "Battle at Kruger," an 8½-minute clip of safari footage shot by an amateur. It captures lions and buffalo and crocodile in an exhilarating predator-versus-prey/prey-versus-predator scenario.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE INCREDIBLE VIDEO

It's the visual real-life tale of a baby Cape buffalo's struggle to survive against a multitude of foes. After being dragged into a small watering hole by lions — and almost torn in half by the same lions and an opportunistic crocodile — it's rescued by its herd that chase, and in one case toss, the lions away.

The battle between giant animals in the bush is a captivating sequence, and the viewer can't help but become emotionally invested in the calf's battle for survival.

"Experienced people who do wildlife documentaries, they'll tell you, there's only two ways you can see something like that — that's to spend thousands and thousands of hours following these creatures, and even then you might not be lucky … or else, to just be in a random place and see it," said Frank Watts, who has been guiding safaris for more than 15 years.

In fact, Watts was at a random place that day — a watering hole in South Africa's Kruger National Park — when the Battle at Kruger took place. "I have never seen anything like that in my life before," he said.

Lucky is how Texan David Budzinski, the man behind the riveting footage, would describe his photography that day, because he barely knew how to turn his camera on.

"It's a camera that I had used maybe once a year. Even today, I have to practice with it to remember which buttons do what. I'm not a camera person. I'm just lucky to have it!" he said. Budzinski's story and his video is like so many other clips found on YouTube. It's a case of right place, right time and a rolling camera.

"I was so lucky to be there with the camera, much luckier to be able to take some of the footage. I truly was blessed at the time to hold it steady and catch what I did, because very easily, I could have missed so much," said Budzinski.