South Africa’s Kruger National Park is renowned for wonderful encounters with African Elephants, and our quick visit last week proved no exception. We were based in the Mopani region of the Park, where mopane shrubs and trees dominate the plains and elephants congregate in their numbers near permanent water sources, like the Tihongonyeni waterhole. It was on our way to Tihongonyeni late one morning that these two bulls decided to make use of a flimsy shadow cast over the road by a big tree to rest their tired legs. Every time we ventured closer to try and sneak past on the verge of the road, the bull nearer to us would give a warning step or two in our direction, trunk outstretched, and so I’d back up again. Eventually we waited half-an-hour before the two eventually allowed us, with a shake of the head and a toss of the trunk as if they’d grown tired of our meekness and just wanted to be rid of us, to pass them.
Here’s a short video of an encounter we’ll remember fondly when passing that way again in future.
DeWetsWild 
Good thing you are fluent in elephant!
Learned through years and years of adoration, Kathy. I love them.
Oh, Dries–I picture those elephants getting ‘tired of our meekness’ and waving you through with their trunks **come on, come on. Keep moving. Hurry up**
That’s exactly what it seemed like to me, Lois. Like a tired, annoyed, exasperated “Just get out of here, won’t you!”
Spectacular encounter, Dries. Those elephants were enforcing elephant time standards, weren’t they.
Yep! Human needs for dignified bathroom breaks are none of their concern!
You got some good photos, though, and I really enjoyed your music choices. Your encounter reminds me of some encounters with moose in Wyoming. Brought to mind some of the lyrics from “The Gambler “:
You got to know when to hold ’em
Know when to fold ’em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run.
One of my favourite tunes that! Next time I’ll play it to the elephants and when they close their eyes and start tapping their feet I’ll squeeze past!
Be sure you’re recording that!
Hopefully Joubert will be along then so he can hold the camera while I hold the steering wheel! 😀 😀 😀
😉
Oh I enjoyed listening to this song again 🙂 🙂
You can’t go wrong with a classic song like that, Anne!
Hulle het nou wraggies ook nie grootste boom gekies om in die skaduwee te kom nie 😄. Ek sien op die video hulle laat rus hulle slurpe op die grond … is dit maar hoe ‘n olifant maak as hulle bietjie stil staan?
Daar is so min skaduwee bome op die oop mopanievlaktes dat hulle maar moet gebruik wat hulle kan, Corna.
Vir jare het mense maar gedink hulle “rus” hul sware slurpe maar so op die grond van moegheid – maar toe vind hulle uit olifante kommunikeer met klanke wat onhoorbaar is vir mense en vir enorme afstande deur die grond voortgeplant kan word, sodat hulle dit dan deur hul pote (en gebeendere) en slurp na hul brein kanaliseer om te “hoor”. Olifante is fassinerende diere en ons mensdom moet skaam wees oor hoe ons hulle vir so lank behandel het.
Sjoe, dis geweldig interessant! Baie dankie (ek kan nie wag om dit vir iemand anders te vertel nie 😉). Ja, eintlik dink ek dat alhoewel ‘n olifant ‘n baie groot dier is, hulle eintlik baie “fyn besnaard” is (is dit ‘n woord?) … maar ek’s seker jy weet wat ek bedoel.
Uit eie ervaring kan ek beslis bevestig dat olifante uiters intelligent is en oor n reeks emosies so wyd soos ons eie beskik.
Jy sal dalk hierdie joernaal oor hul kommunikasie geniet, Corna: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2021.0264
Ek is stom geslaan! Dis baie interessant (daar was ‘n paar ‘wiskundige berekeninge’ wat my effe in die duister gehad het 😉), maar vir die res het ek lekker gelees. Baie dankie vir die ‘link’!
Om te dink dis iemand se werk om te probeer uitpluis hoe olifante kommunikeer!
Twee gesoute ou menere wat wys wie is die baas.
baie beslis, Ineke