ePostcard #11: An Elephant’s Life
In Namibia’s Etosha National Park, waterholes and elephants are a magical combination when you want to observe elephant behavior. Elephants of different ages are often present and this makes it especially fun to just sit and watch the action unfold. Waterholes provide a very important social setting for elephants because they allow youngsters in extended families to meet, play, spar, and bond, perhaps building foundations for friendships later in life. When adult male elephants, or bulls, are present at the waterhole, this gives younger bulls still within their family groups a chance to interact with these older adults in a “friendly” setting. After a long drink and mud bath, the family members often dust themselves with sand. Covering their muddy bodies with sand helps protect their skin from parasites. On very hot days, there tends to be a traffic jam at critical waterholes and the elephants have to make their way through the throngs to get to the waterhole.
Conservation Note: Today there are few elephants living undisturbed in Africa. The human footprint is closing in, with intense tourism, ongoing habitat destruction, poaching for ivory, and many more threats impacting elephant survival. We have only just begun to comprehend these complex and emotional creatures.
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I love seeing all the different species you’ve captured in each photo–especially the ducks swimming in the foreground as the elephants bathe in the background! It makes the scene seem so alive, which I’m sure it was!
Amazing how you captured the expressions of the elephants (and the seals too). Your beautiful images have extraordinary detail. Thank you for sharing!
All wonderfully intimate photos, and the photo of an adult female with two young of different sizes at her side is just classic!
Ahhh, how this takes me back…Not to elephants in Namibia but in Kenya when I was there years ago on a photographic safari. Seeing my first giraffe in the wild was my greatest thrill but the groups of elephant families was a close second. I doubt if there is anyone in this group for whom the names Osa and Martin Johnson will have meaning but they were my inspiration for my trip to Kenya. I grew up in a small Kansas town with little unusual about it except that the explorer, Osa Johnson was born there. She and Martin did exploration and photography in Africa and the South Seas. They would come to my hometown, Chanute and bring premiers of their films to the little People’s Theater for us to be a part of their exciting lives. Lucky me!
Oh,Betty! What a wonderful bit of history you shared! I became aware of Osa and Martin Johnson when I was a little girl. I probably saw them on a Disney show right after we got our first TV (I was about 7). That show pointed me to the school library for more information and a desire to go to Africa to study giraffes when I grew up. I can’t tell you how many times during the South Africa/Namibia trip I remembered that dream.
Wow Audrey… No fair, cannot choose my favorite of this series! Would it be the 3 generations, or the 2 bathing, or maybe the dusty one? You capture not only the magic of the place,the mood of the wild but also the relationship and how important is safeguarding of what is there in the hope of not only surviving but flourishing for generations to come.
Audrey, These are fabulous pictures! Have you read a book by the name of “Elephant Company”? It’s about Elephants in the teak trade in what was then Burma. It is by Vicki Constantine Croke and says so much about Elephant behavior. When you have time, I think you’d like it. Thank you again for these wonderful pictures. Ruth
We especially loved the picture of all the different animals at the watering hole. Nash thinks it looks like the elephant is standing on the zebra’s back, ha!
Wonder of wonders! I feel like I just landed into a National Geographic Film!
Wolf and I just watched a segment of On the Road: Kindness 101 with Steve Hartman about friendship and mainly for kids — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6fD_rYI9vA
and there is a story about an elephant and dog that is testament to their deep emotional natures.