No list of African megafauna would be remotely complete without the elephant. Ranging from the savanna to the mountains and weighing from 3 tons (for the smaller forest breeds) to 7 tons (for a savanna bull) they are truly an awesome sight. Even in the last few days of our tour when we'd seen hundreds of things and were getting harder and harder to impress they took our breath away every single time.
Not that it doesn't take some time to put on that 7 tons, they start out pretty little and are absolutely enchanting when they're young and carefree as well. Watching a large group of them care for and look after each other was heartwarming and seeing an injury in their group was tragic.
Being the largest land animal on Earth they tend to build up a lot of body heat which they are able to control and vent through their ears, but in the hottest parts of the day they can be pretty sedate. At one point in the Maasai Mara it was raining and these two young bulls were practicing having a scrap. They apparently quite like the rain as it takes off the heat of the day and gives them a good rinse.
Despite centuries of hunting and poaching for their ivory, I was very happy to see so many of these animals and to see such a variety in ages throughout the groups. Kenya in particular has stopped all hunting of game animals and I think the conservation efforts of both countries are making a huge opportunity for these beautiful creatures to survive for a long time to come.
Not that it doesn't take some time to put on that 7 tons, they start out pretty little and are absolutely enchanting when they're young and carefree as well. Watching a large group of them care for and look after each other was heartwarming and seeing an injury in their group was tragic.
Being the largest land animal on Earth they tend to build up a lot of body heat which they are able to control and vent through their ears, but in the hottest parts of the day they can be pretty sedate. At one point in the Maasai Mara it was raining and these two young bulls were practicing having a scrap. They apparently quite like the rain as it takes off the heat of the day and gives them a good rinse.
Despite centuries of hunting and poaching for their ivory, I was very happy to see so many of these animals and to see such a variety in ages throughout the groups. Kenya in particular has stopped all hunting of game animals and I think the conservation efforts of both countries are making a huge opportunity for these beautiful creatures to survive for a long time to come.
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