Kenton of
The Two Foodies made a request for some Africa photos, of which there are 1800. I've been slowly whittling them down, but I keep getting distracted by the elephants. When I come across these pictures or any of the hundreds of photos of pacaderms in my possession, I start ooo-ing and aww-ing--not something I normally do. I mean, look at the babies. How freaking cute are they?!
These particular elephants had just crossed the Linyanti River from Namibia into Botswana (using their snouts to breathe under water, and the babies hold onto the moms' tails--cute cute cute). These elephants are crossing in the exact spot our Land Rover was in when we first saw them swimming. As they approached my dad said, "Well, I better go use the lou with the view before they get here." Our guide was like, um, no time for that, get in the car--stat. The elephants were pretty defensive when they first got out of the water. I was watching a video (which I'll post tonight), and there were about 20 elephants in total. They immediatley positioned that baby between the adult female and the adolescent. Apparently, (and this is my favorite part about the elephants) they're really protective of the family group. If one of them dies, they actually mourn, and they'll return to its burial site pretty frequently. If one of the elephants in their group gets attacked, they will turn around and defend it. Groups of elephants never get attacked by predators (except humans) because they circle up with the babies in the middle.
Another of my favorite parts that we caught on tape is of one of the adolescent elephants. The entire group of elephants was trumpeting at us, stomping their feet and fanning their ears. I noticed that one of the half-sized elephants did it anyway and then scampered off. I just imagine it saying, "Yeah, take that humans! Uh-oh, I can't be last."
See how ridiculous long this post is? I could go on for ages about how great the elephants are. I mean look a how freaking cute that baby is!!!!!! If cutesness could kill ...
Kenton of The Two Foodies made a request for some Africa photos, of which there are 1800. I've been slowly whittling them down, but I keep getting distracted by the elephants. When I come across these pictures or any of the hundreds of photos of pacaderms in my possession, I start ooo-ing and aww-ing--not something I normally do. I mean, look at the babies. How freaking cute are they?!
These particular elephants had just crossed the Linyanti River from Namibia into Botswana (using their snouts to breathe under water, and the babies hold onto the moms' tails--cute cute cute). These elephants are crossing in the exact spot our Land Rover was in when we first saw them swimming. As they approached my dad said, "Well, I better go use the lou with the view before they get here." Our guide was like, um, no time for that, get in the car--stat. The elephants were pretty defensive when they first got out of the water. I was watching a video (which I'll post tonight), and there were about 20 elephants in total. They immediatley positioned that baby between the adult female and the adolescent. Apparently, (and this is my favorite part about the elephants) they're really protective of the family group. If one of them dies, they actually mourn, and they'll return to its burial site pretty frequently. If one of the elephants in their group gets attacked, they will turn around and defend it. Groups of elephants never get attacked by predators (except humans) because they circle up with the babies in the middle.
Another of my favorite parts that we caught on tape is of one of the adolescent elephants. The entire group of elephants was trumpeting at us, stomping their feet and fanning their ears. I noticed that one of the half-sized elephants did it anyway and then scampered off. I just imagine it saying, "Yeah, take that humans! Uh-oh, I can't be last."
See how ridiculous long this post is? I could go on for ages about how great the elephants are. I mean look a how freaking cute that baby is!!!!!! If cutesness could kill ...
Posts
5 comments:
Thank you :) Nice pictures and great to hear the story behind them.
I second the sentiment. Baby elephants are almost the epitamy of cuteness. With their little wiry hairs on top of their head... it would be very interesting to see wild elephants sometime. My only experience (close-up) was in Thailand at the elephant preserve. While they're not tame necessiairly, they are trained there.
here's where i get annoying about how much i've travel: when i lived in thailand, i live right next door to an elephant sort of zoo. i walked by the asian elephants everyday, which was awesome--but these guys were so much better.
AHH that baby elephant IS so cute! 1800, whew. you must've been clickin' away. thanks for the note, btw, but as you can imagine my mom kept us more than busy. I hope we can get together next time I'm in town.
Too cute!! I love the baby one, and the story about the adolescent is hilarious. Thanks for sharing!
Post a Comment