Epic fight between two giraffe is captured on film

Behind the Scenes on Earth: One Amazing Day - Giraffe Fight

7 years ago

Duration 1:41

Filmmakers waited over a month to film an intense giraffe fight, that was over in one minute.

The Earth: One Amazing Day filmmaking team travelled to Africa's Namib desert to film the majestic giraffe.  But there was one scene that they hoped to catch, "we were always waiting for a fight,"  says cameraman Martyn Colbeck.

After 30 days in the field, a young male giraffe challenged the resident bull for territory.  "There was no warning this was going to happen, so it was complete pandemonium."  Reacting quickly, Colbeck and his team filmed the epic fight, which was over in one minute.

It wasn't until the footage was played back in slow motion that the team could see how ferocious the battle was. "You could see the impact on the skin; you could see ripples going through the flesh."

With a clunk, the young calf is knocked out cold, but stands up and walks off in defeat a few minutes later. "It's unlikely I'm going to see anything like that again."

Watch Earth: One Amazing Day for more spectacular stories.