Elephants
Read MoreThe 10,000 pound bull was in an irritable mood and decided to charge us. I wish that I knew then what I learned later, because I was scared stiff that the big fellow was going to ram our vehicle. However, he stopped about 25 feet away. One can diferentiate a mock-charge from a serious one: if it had been a serious charge, his ears would have been plastered against his head, and his trunk would have been rolled up tightly under his mouth. However, there's no way of knowing if an elephant is going to change his mind after he's started a mock charge. We could not have outrun him, because we had stopped, and he was too close and already up to speed. [Serengeti, Tanzania].
About 50 bull Elephants are waiting to get a drink, but the water-hole was almost dry. They had been waiting patiently for some time for those at the water to finish and leave, but after a while, tempers flared, resulting in some pushing & shoving between very thirsty bulls.The loud clashing of the tusks & the forces produced by these behemoths struggling against one another, was impressive. When we returned the next morning, the ground was strewn with pieces of ivory--broken tusks. [Savuti, Chobe NP,Botswana]. [
Elephant Bulls waiting to drink: These are just some of the bulls waiting so patiently for a drink. The water supply here looked pretty skimpy to me, knowing that each thirsty bull could consume almost 100 gallons. Later that evening, the man in charge of these waterholes explained that he had deliberately ordered all the water shut off to encourage the elephants to trek another 10 miles or so to reach the plentiful water of the delta. I don't know if this worked, but I thought it was a little cruel. [Savuti, Botswana].
A curious 55-yr-old bull who came up to the front of our open vehicle, and stood motionless with his trunk against the bumper, staring at the driver and me for about 10 minutes. Neither of us moved. I just stared back. One can't help wondering what he was thinking. His broken tusks and wrinkled skin indicate that he had a lot of 'milage' on him. He then suddenly pulled away from our vehicle and rejoined some other elephants nearby. [Moremi NP, Botswana].