Tag: Elephant

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2025-02-16: Elephants in the riverbed

I remember how peaceful it was to sit on the deck of our cabin in the early afternoon and watch this beautiful herd of elephants. They came down to a dam (just out of the picture to the left) to drink, and once they had their fill, begin heading into the (mostly) dry riverbed to feed on the abundant vegetation.

A herd of elephants seen at Timbavati Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.

Part of the herd had already moved deeper into the riverbed; there were perhaps 15 – 20 in the group in total.

Just because the game drive is over doesn’t mean the wildlife viewing is over. There is often an abundance of birdlife and animals to be seen just relaxing around camp.

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2024-10-20: Elephants

I was drawn to elephants when I sat down to work through some photos today, but when I came online to create my post, I realized I did the same thing only a month ago (which you can find here). As I rebuild my habits for photo editing and posting, checking what I have done recently is probably a smart thing to add early in the process.

Throughout the years of this blog I’ve said time and again how much I love spending time with elephants; and if I could only pick one animal to see one safari, it would be elephants, as they are almost always active and on the move doing something: feeding, drinking or interacting with one another, which makes them very interesting to spend time with.

A group of male elephants greeting each other with some trunk touching. Timbavati Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April 2024.
This elephant had only a partial trunk, likely from a snare injury. Despite this disability, he was able to drink and feed himself. He was traveling with a larger herd that had already moved on down the riverbed to feed. Timbavati Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.
A perfect reflection of an elephant in this small watering hole. He was very accommodating and we spent a good deal of time just relaxing a watching him go about his morning. Tombavati Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.
An elephant leaving the watering hole to return to grazing. Savute national Park, Botswana. April, 2024.
A trio of youngsters drinking from a watering hole in Savuti. Their mothers were all very close by and watching over them, but seeing these three together like this was quite a treat. Baby elephants are just too cute for words. Savute National Park, Botswana. April, 2024.
A group of elephants drinking from the Chobe River in the afternoon, watched by a nearby hippo. Choose National Park, Botswana. April, 2024.
Another perfect reflection, this time from the hide at Leroo La Tau camp in Botswana. Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, 2024.

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2024-09-15: Elephants

On the plus side, I managed to get an editing session completed this weekend. On the minus side, it’s nearly bedtime when I finished. I’m sure as the decent weather fades, it will be easier to schedule in computer time.

Elephants are always an easy choice for me for editing and posts, because I’m fascinated by them and enjoy watching them so much; I always come back with loads of photos to choose from. This selection is all bull elephants, seen throughout my last trip in South Africa and Botswana.

An elephant mid dust bath. Timbavati, South Africa. April, 2024.
An elephant passing next to one of the road markers in Savute, Botswana. April, 2024.
An elephant feeding in the Okavango Delta wetlands at sunset. Botswana, April, 2024.
We all knew who had right of way on this road, and it sure wasn’t our convoy of vehicles. Botswana, April, 2024.
A lone bull quenching his thirst at the waterhole outside of Leroo La Tau Lodge in Botswana. April, 2024.
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2021-05-23: Bull Elephants

I felt drawn to work on some elephant images, but wanted to find a slightly different spin, so I focused on some of the sightings that I had with bull elephants the last time I was in South Africa. Encountering a lone bull, especially one in musth, can be risky business, and I am always grateful for the skilled rangers that handle the encounters with so much skill (while at the same time, providing lots of interesting information about the animal).

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2021-03-07: Elephant in Timbavati

I ran out of day before I ran out of my to-do list, but thought one image was better than nothing. And if it is only going to be one, it better be of my very favourite 🙂

We came across a huge herd of elephants on the way back to camp after our morning game drive whilst staying at Kings Camp in the Timbavati; you can see we were well into the morning by the quality of light and the shadows, but it was too wonderful not to stop, even though the photo opportunities were a bit challenging. No matter where I looked, close to the vehicle or father off, there were elephants in every direction. A happy place indeed.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead.

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2021-01-25: Monochrome Monday

Continuing on from yesterday, here is another elephant image showing little and large. Take a look at this tiny tike out in the open on the road while Mom and another guardian browse in the bushes. This one was probably still small enough to get tucked under Mom’s belly if needed.

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2021-01-24: Elephants – Little and Large

I felt called to work on some elephant images this week, and as soon as I came across a the first photo I thought a selection of images showing little and large would be just right. I can’t even put into words the magic that I feel when spending time amongst elephants, and a breeding herd is extra special, with the lovely bonds and all the extended family pitching in to help look after the little ones.

I was fortunate to have a huge number of elephants sightings on y last trip and have lots of images to choose from. Which is a good thing, because it is still going to be a long while before I’ll be there again.

This little one was one of the smallest members of the herd, and was heading back to Mom for a suckle. This sighting was during a late afternoon game drive from Chitwa Chitwa in the Sabi Sands.
A tiny elephant calf almost obscured by the low brush, following behind what was probably an older sibling or aunt. This sighting was at Kings Camp in the Timbavati, and we were amongst a large herd of elephants. Every direction we looked from the vehicle there were ears flapping and trunks browsing. Heaven!
A cheeky youngster making itself look very big and imposing by flaring out its ears. Too cute!

Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead.

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