We had some great elephant sightings on our last Africa trip. Just after entering Etosha NP in Namibia there were probably 30 or more, on either side of the road, spread among the trees. We watched them for 15 or 20 minutes.
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| I didn't get any great pictures during the first sighting. But this big bull came to the Okaukuejo waterhole that night, along with some giraffes. This photo was taken without a flash and without a tripod. |
The next day, as we were near Halili Camp, we stopped for another 20 minutes or so as we saw another similarly sized group. There we had elephants crossing the road in front of and behind our car and they are amazingly large and intimidating.
In the Okavango Delta of Botswana we saw them a number of times while in our modified Toyota Land Cruiser. The most exciting time was when an angry male came out, ears flared and trumpeting and looked ready to charge our vehicle. Our guide, K.T. sped away and did not slow down for awhile. I was a little disappointed as we missed some great pictures, but I assumed he knew what he was doing. I asked him about it later and he told a story of a fellow guide having an angry elephant lift the safari vehicle up with her tusks and nearly turn the vehicle over.
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| Mama leads a baby. |
We also saw them out along the river while in a motor boat...
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| This guy looked a little irritated by us. I love it when they flap out their ears. |
...and had a resident elephant, Franklin, that spent most of his time around camp causing troubles for the caretakers, but entertainment for the guests. Franklin left a large calling card in the trail to our tent one evening, and another evening, let out a growl and a roar that we were sure was a lion, right next to our tent.
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| Franklin, near the tents in Kadizora Camp in the Okavanga Delta. |
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| Franklin in the marsh outside of camp. |
In Victoria Falls we saw a number of elephants walking through the outskirts of town and saw some from the air on our helicopter ride.
In Hwange NP in Zimbabwe we saw more elephants, but nothing as impressive as in Namibia and Botswana.
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| This big bull was a little excited: ears flared, tail swinging to the side. |
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| I like this picture of their backs. |
Such majestic animals, it is sad that they cant only survive in preserves.
ReplyDeleteI can never get enough of the elephants. It's amazing to me that they can survive in some of the areas they do. I love their bony backs and flappy ears, and the way there is almost a baby or two in even the small herds.
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