While on Safari through the Kruger National Park in South Africa, we managed to locate a small herd of elephants. One particular baby elephant grabbed our attention with his odd behaviour. This particular little elephant strangely looked interested in a pile of dung lying on the ground. The pile of dung belonged to his mother. To our amazement, the baby elephant goes down on his knees, moves his trunk to the side and takes a big bite of the dung with his mouth. After the big bite of dung, the little one continues to sniff around the pile of dung and picks up a smaller piece and puts it in his mouth. His reaction to the taste was very entertaining and humorous to watch. In the end the baby elephant picks up a stick and puts it in his mouth. It looked like he was trying to get rid of the taste in his mouth and that he just needed a toothpick after his strange meal. It may appear disgusting to humans, but the practice of eating dung, known as coprophagia, is common among some animal species but rarely witnessed by humans in the wild. Baby animals including elephant and hippo calves eat excretions from their mothers or fellow herd members when they're transitioning from drinking their mother's milk to eating solid foods. Devouring this excretion matter helps babies establish healthy bacterial communities in their guts, which in turn aids normal digestion. It was a great learning experience and a definite first for everyone on the safari.