A mother elephant charged headfirst at a herd of goats in Samburu National Reserve, northern Kenya to defend her calves.

The filmer, Matt Brierley, commented on the scene filmed on October 30: "These goats picked just the wrong time to show up in the dry Ewaso Ng'iro river bed.

"Martha - part of the First Ladies elephant family and named after Martha Washington - had just watched her two children dig drinking holes with their feet and wasn't about to let goats steal their valuable water.

"Martha, known to scientists as M17, can be seen chasing the goats. She then mounts the bank, smelling for the herders who'd fled into the bushes - a dangerous place to be since lions and leopards live there. You can see Martha's temporal glands secreting on the side of her head, a sure sign she was stressed."

"Thankfully the herders dodged her; had they needed to defend themselves they may have felt forced to injure Martha or her calves."

It’s a mammoth task keeping herders and their livestock out of Samburu National Reserve, Northern Kenya. In the dry season herders feel they have little choice but to allow their livestock into the reserve to eat the ungrazed vegetation. Elephants dig valuable water holes, accessing cool and clean water still flowing under the sands of the "dry" river bed. These goats picked just the wrong time to show up in the dry Ewaso Ng'iro river bed. Martha - part of the First Ladies elephant family and named after Martha Washington - had just watched her two children dig drinking holes with their feet and wasn't about to let goats steal their valuable water. Martha, known to scientists as M17, can be seen chasing the goats. She then mounts the bank, smelling for the herders who'd fled into the bushes - a dangerous place to be since lions and leopards live there. You can see Martha's temporal glands secreting on the side of her head, a sure sign she was stressed. Thankfully the herders dodged her; had they needed to defend themselves they may have felt forced to injure Martha or her calves. Welcome to DM me if looking to build a sequence, I can help with more information.