When we encountered a lone male elephant anywhere, our guide stayed at a respectful distance (about 50 feet) and NEVER shut off the engine. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. This guy could have flipped our van over and stomped us flat. We backed up a few times too.
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Here's a male tusker, up close and personal! Elephants
have incredibly long, curly eyelashes. My first closeup look at an elephant (less
than 10 feet away) came at the Ark, a very touristy place that runs human bodies in and
out much like a cattle operation. In spite of that, the wildlife viewing is
excellent. The area is built next to a natural salt lick, and salt is added to the
soil to increase its appeal. Animals come and go 24 hours/day, so you never know
what sort of interactions you're going to see. Elephants may be intelligent, but
their toiletry habits leave a lot to be desired. I watched many of them urinating on
the same ground that they were tearing up with their tusks and then eating. I also
saw a very young elephant who was very curious about a pair of adolescent Cape buffalo.
The latter aren't exactly the sociable types, so a couple of older elephants gently
held junior back with their trunks or moved their massive bodies between baby and
potential trouble. Elephants have a matriarchal (female leadership) society.
Adult males are only around during the breeding season. Elephants with
good-sized tusks are still rare because of the sordid history of ivory poaching in Africa.
Genetic makeup of some herds has been modified enough that some elephants don't
even grow tusks now. When we encountered a lone male elephant anywhere, our guide stayed at a respectful distance (about 50 feet) and NEVER shut off the engine. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. This guy could have flipped our van over and stomped us flat. We backed up a few times too. |