One of my favourite books is called Elephantoms, written by Lyall Watson. It explores the soul of these great pachyderms, more from an anecdotal than scientific viewpoint, nevertheless sharing some startling insights into their behaviour and evolution. More than in any other book I’ve read about them, apart from maybe the wonderful and well known The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony, Elephantoms lets one enter intimately into the highly emotional world of the elephant, without ever having to see one in the wild.
Elephants are probably my favourite creatures here at Londolozi. Not as beautiful as leopards, not as awe-inspiring as a pride of lions bringing down a buffalo, elephants still manage to trounce both these big cats in the compeition for ‘most desirable to spend time with’, even if it’s only for their consistency. They are always doing something. Whether feeding, drinking, dust bathing or simply meandering slowly through the bush, spending time with them is always special, and the odds of finding an elephant not engaged in some kind of interesting activity are slim. The social interactions are fascinating, and to watch the sheer unbridled joy of elephants around water is a real privilege.
An elephant calf moves across the herd to join its mother.
The dry season sees elephants spending a lot of time around permanent water sources. Knowing where the water is, the smell of it as they approach rouses their excitement and a herd can often be seen accelarating as they approach until they are actually running towards the water!
Winter time sees the area around the Londolozi camps inundated with breeding herds and bachelor bulls, who come flocking down to the perennial Sand River to slake their thirsts. The difficulty for many rangers and trackers during the dry season is that there are almost too many elephants. Not in the sense that they are dangerous or a nuisance, because they aren’t either, but with so many encounters taking place, particularly along the river, it can make it very difficult to track down other desirable creatures to see, simply because your game drive is filled with spending time with animals of the large grey variety. I feel very guilty if I have to drive past a herd of elephants without spending at least a few minutes with them.
With more and more mud wallows drying up in the winter, this bull took full advantage of this one alongside Shingalana dam.
A herd crosses the Sand River in formation while a big bull brings up the rear.
While the lions sleep and the leopards skulk through the thickets, the elephants are bound to be doing something entertaining, although I hesitate to use that word. The herds are regular passers-by in front of the Londolozi camps, and it has been on many occasions in the past few weeks that I have wandered down to the deck to be greeted by a throng of people along the railing, all looking down onto a peaceful scene of elephants feeding below them.
Wait, watch, listen. Spend time with them and don’t just look, actually see. What are the elephants doing? How are they doing it? Why are they doing it? The subtle nuances in the behaviour of individuals in a herd can reveal a lot about the dynamics and relationships between them. The more I spend time with them the more I find myself comparing their behaviour to ours.
At Londolozi we are very fortunate in that we regularly have close encounters with the wildlife, but no encounter is more meaningful than a close one with an elephant. Lions will walk past the vehicle and stare up at you as they go. A giraffe might gaze blankly in your direction. But only with elephants, when you look them in the eye, do you know – not suspect – know, that something is going on behind there. While you are working them out, they are doing the same. Do they have souls? The eye is meant to be the window to it, after all…
Written and Photographed by James Tyrrell, Londolozi Photographer
Awesome blog James. Elephants are so special. Such #human like# emotions and behaviour. Highly endangered now. We are still so fortunate to be able to see them.
Wonderful pictures of these wonderful animals. Elephants are such fantastic creatures that I cannot understand at all how anybody can kill them for their tusks. Whether it’s so-called “legal” hunting or poaching, it’s just murdering wonderful creatures.
By the way, yesterday I read in the magazine “Habari” (the “Friends of the Serengeti” magazine) that the USA is the country that buys and trades ivory the most.
So, hello, all you lovers of animals and Londolozi and safari in Africa people from the USA: do something active against this horrible trade in your country!! Write to your president that trading in ivory should be banned, write to hunting organizations in the USA and protest against hunting tourists who go to Africa only to kill such a wonderful creature for their tusks!
Ellies are totally fascinating animals. I really enjoyed THE ELEPHANT WHISPERER and learnt so much about elephants. They are remarkable creatures indeed. We have a wonderful Creator! Lawrence Anthony was a very special person with enormous compassion and concern. Not only could he relate to animals, but also to people. I have read all 3 of his books. Would love to have met him.
Wendy M
What a beautifully written article about elephants. It made my morning until I read the rant of Christa Blessing.
Thank you James for a wonderful blog and beautiful pictures. I love Elephants and truly believe they have a soul. They are so intelligent and gentle and when you look into their eyes you can really see the emotion…and they touch our hearts in such a powerful way. I love the way they respect and care for each other and humans could learn a lot from them.
Excellent write-up James. Elephants are such incredible creatures… I personally love spending time with them, and it’s always fun to try and interpret what they are thinking and why they are doing what they are doing.