Attack of the Croc! Elephant Barely Escapes Crocodile's Violent Attack in Watering Hole [Video]

Elephants and crocodiles don't often find themselves locked in a deadly battle, but a thrilling footage of one such battle has emerged from the Liwonde National Park in Malawi.

A group of tourists who were on a boating safari were able to capture the terrifying encounter on film, according to a report from Mashable. The clip showed a herd of elephants trudging through a shallow river when a crocodile suddenly jumped out of the water and chomped on the trunk of one of the smaller members of the herd.

The rest of the elephants backed away, but roared ferociously as the crocodile trashed around violently and refused to let go of the elephant's trunk. Eventually, the largest elephant of the herd came forward and appeared to help its friend, stomping on the crocodile in the process.

Alexander Makanga, who filmed the encounter and shared the video on YouTube, told Breaking News that the mighty fight occurred just a few meters from the tourist boat and that it was "absolutely insane."

Such is life in the wild -- dangerous and unpredictable. However, humans can be just as cruel to elephants.

According to a report from National Geographic, a newly released hidden camera video footage showed zookeepers at Hannover Adventure Zoo in Germany abusing three young elephants.

The heartbreaking video showed the zookeepers pushing the elephants' heads to the ground and thrusting bull hooks on their necks. They also whipped them to force the animals to perform tricks. The three-year-old elephants were seen cowering and attempting to run away from their keepers.

Elephant Aid International founder Carol Buckley said in a review of the video, "The elephants live under a constant threat of pain and harassment. This creates a continual low-level stress that causes anxiety and fear; can trigger aggression; and has a negative impact on their immune system."