Clumsy antelope gets elephant skull stuck on its antlers during rutting practice in South Africa 

A new set of eleph-antlers! Clumsy antelope tries to get an elephant skull off its head after it became stuck during rutting practice in South Africa

  • The kudu was practising rutting against the skull when it got stuck on its antlers
  • The animal was seen swinging its head around in an attempt to free itself
  • Andrew and Simone Schofield spotted the unusual sight in South Africa 

A clumsy antelope managed to get a giant elephant skull stuck on its antlers after practising rutting against it.

Retired ecologist Andrew Schofield and his wife Simone, both 64, were visiting South Africa’s Addo Elephant National Park in October when they spotted the large kudu.

As the enormous animal bent its head down, it pushed a huge elephant skull to mimic tests of strength it would normally perform against other male kudus.

A clumsy antelope managed to get a giant elephant skull stuck on its antlers after rutting against it for practice

Retired ecologist Andrew Schofield and his wife Simone, both 64, spotted the large kudu having a spot of bother

Retired ecologist Andrew Schofield and his wife Simone, both 64, spotted the large kudu having a spot of bother

The couple were visiting South Africa's Addo Elephant National Park in October when they saw the unusual sight

The couple were visiting South Africa’s Addo Elephant National Park in October when they saw the unusual sight

But its antlers accidentally slipped into the skull’s eye sockets, causing the huge bones to slide down the horns and rest on the startled animal’s head.

Desperately trying to free itself, the kudu hurled its head around for five minutes before finally managing to throw the skull over its back and running off once free from the predicament.

Andrew, from Cape Town, said: ‘I’ve observed kudus rut trees and stumps, but never with an elephant skull like this. I sent it to my former colleagues as well and none of them had seen something like this before.

As the enormous animal bent its head down, it pushed a huge elephant skull to mimic tests of strength

As the enormous animal bent its head down, it pushed a huge elephant skull to mimic tests of strength

Suddenly, its antlers accidentally slipped into the skull's eye sockets, causing the huge bones to slide down the horns

Suddenly, its antlers accidentally slipped into the skull’s eye sockets, causing the huge bones to slide down the horns

Desperately trying to free itself, the kudu hurled its head around for five minutes in a failed attempt to dislodge the skull

Desperately trying to free itself, the kudu hurled its head around for five minutes in a failed attempt to dislodge the skull

‘In 46 years of working and watching bush wildlife, I have never heard of this happening before. It was a complete freak incident.

‘It put its head down and pushed the skull around a bit. All of a sudden, his antlers slipped perfectly into the skull’s eye sockets and he had it stuck on his head.

‘He had no idea what to do. I honestly thought we would have to get a dart gun and help to get the skull unstuck.

‘He was shaking it off for about five minutes in total before he eventually managed to throw it over his own back. When it hit the ground he was frightened and ran off.

It finally managed to throw the skull over its back and ran off once free from the predicament

It finally managed to throw the skull over its back and ran off once free from the predicament

The antelope normally ruts with other male kudus, where they compete with their antlers over females

The antelope normally ruts with other male kudus, where they compete with their antlers over females

Andrew and Simone, from Cape Town, said they had never seen anything like it in 46 years of watching wildlife

Andrew and Simone, from Cape Town, said they had never seen anything like it in 46 years of watching wildlife

‘They test their strength with other kudus by putting their heads down and pushing each other backwards and forwards.

‘This one put its head down against this elephant skull, which is something they would normally do with another male or sometimes a bush.

‘Me and Simone love wildlife, myself especially as a retired ecologist. We managed to do three national parks when we were on holiday.’