Early last year I had the amazing good fortune to go on an African safari. It was spectacular! The lodging, the people, the location, the thrill… all of it was outstanding. But it was the wildlife that made it unforgettable. With nothing but air between you and the animals, you are able to observe, study and admire these beautiful wild animals at length. It’s only fair to warn you, though, that one safari is never quite enough… you’ll yearn to see and experience more and more.
While I made a conscious effort to observe carefully before looking through the viewfinder, I did take a lot of photos. Some of my favorites are of the elephants which I’d like to share with you today. Below is one of the first elephants we sighted. We observed it gently walking down the track before it stopped to eat.
I’m certainly not the first person to have fallen for these majestic, lovable creatures. In preparation for my trip to South Africa, I discovered Brian Connell’s Tales from the African Bush series. His first book, Msomi and Me, shares his story of building an African safari lodge. It was the perfect pre-read for my safari! But his second book, Elephants are People Too, is most relevant to today’s post. He opens the book by declaring elephants to be the most amazing animals on the planet. Then he goes on to share his fascinating experiences in the African bush, many of which involve elephants.
As I narrowed down the photos to include in this post, I became curious about some of the elephant behaviors I’d captured. For instance, why is this young elephant holding its trunk like that? This led me to a wonderful resource called the ElephantVoices Gestures Database. It refers to this gesture as “sniffing towards” whereby the elephant “is using its trunk to sniff towards an individual, object or scent of interest”. I guess that object of interest was us!
Shortly after we sighted the little one, Mama Elephant came along and sheparded it to safety.
In the below photo, which is one of my all-time favorites, Mama and little one leave us behind (pun intended :-)).
We were fortunate to witness two young male elephants sparring. According to the Elephant Gestures database, “elephants, especially young males, test one another’s strength by placing their trunks on one another’s heads and pushing their opponent down and back. Sparring can range from gentle and sensuous pushing, trunk-twining … in a playful or greeting context, to more boisterous shoving, to very rough and aggressive pushing, tusking and even ramming.” The below series of photos illustrate several of these gestures.
In the below photo, you can see the male elephant has spread it ears. According to the Elephant Gestures database, elephants “face an opponent or predator head on with ears fully spread (at 90 degrees from body) presumably for the purpose of appearing larger. Elephants may also spread their ears when they are excited, surprised or alarmed.”
I hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse of these amazing animals. Observing them going about their daily routines in their natural setting leaves a lasting impression. It’s little wonder, people want to keep that memory alive with elephant-themed items in their every day lives. That is certainly true for me.
Below are some of the elephants that has infiltrated my home. These items were actually purchased in Thailand after I saw my first elephants but they have become even more meaningful after seeing these majestic, lovable animals in South Africa.
More Info
These photos were taken within the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve in South Africa. Game drives were conducted by Kambuku Lodges where we stayed.
The ElephantVoices Gestures Database, more accurately the “Poole, J.H. and Granli, P.K. 2009. Elephant Gestures Database”, is a wealth of information and loaded with fun facts.
Sept 2018 Update: See the post, Patterns by Mother Nature, for additional photos from this African safari.
Today’s Takeaways
1. If you ever have a chance to go on an African safari, do it!
2. You can enrich your travel experience by reading about your destination before you visit. Guide books and travel sites are great but fact-based storytelling provides deeper understanding.
3. Animals that strike a chord with you become part of your story. Think about how you may want to tell that story with carefully placed items in your home.
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