HOME | DD

Description
There are lots and lots of elephants at Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa [link]. For those who do not know, and in very general terms, mature male elephants or bulls, are normally solitary creatures roaming and feeding most of the time on their own. Mature female elephants normally go around in groups with other females and with young elephants. This is an older bull elephant, one of the original stock brought into Madkwe 2 or 3 decades ago. He still has a tracking device attached to him, although this no longer works. (See the little box on his head, and a harness around his neck.)

Bull elephants can be dangerous and/or playful. If angry they charge, often with one or two mock charges first - to frighten you away. Female elephants do not engage in mock charging - if they are angry they will charge with intent - no playing. This old fellow was enjoying a drink and scrub up at this water hole. He was squirting himself with water and mud, and generally squelching around.

This final shot shows our bull about 1 second before he charged, having ever so cunningly manouevered himself into this position. He is about an elephant length away from the vehicle. When he charged, the lady on my left screamed, my wife yelled, the other two men shouted, and I cursed because I was thrown forward as the ranger fired up the engine of the Land Cruiser, slipped it into gear and drove forward at an almighty speed. "Don't worry," he said, "It was only a mock charge!"

So, I missed the final image as I was scrabbling about to check I still had my camera, that my wife was OK, and that the other lady was still conscious.

Description
There are lots and lots of elephants at Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa [link]. For those who do not know, and in very general terms, mature male elephants or bulls, are normally solitary creatures roaming and feeding most of the time on their own. Mature female elephants normally go around in groups with other females and with young elephants. This is an older bull elephant, one of the original stock brought into Madkwe 2 or 3 decades ago. He still has a tracking device attached to him, although this no longer works. (See the little box on his head, and a harness around his neck.)

Bull elephants can be dangerous and/or playful. If angry they charge, often with one or two mock charges first - to frighten you away. Female elephants do not engage in mock charging - if they are angry they will charge with intent - no playing. This old fellow was enjoying a drink and scrub up at this water hole. He was squirting himself with water and mud, and generally squelching around.

This final shot shows our bull about 1 second before he charged, having ever so cunningly manouevered himself into this position. He is about an elephant length away from the vehicle. When he charged, the lady on my left screamed, my wife yelled, the other two men shouted, and I cursed because I was thrown forward as the ranger fired up the engine of the Land Cruiser, slipped it into gear and drove forward at an almighty speed. "Don't worry," he said, "It was only a mock charge!"

So, I missed the final image as I was scrabbling about to check I still had my camera, that my wife was OK, and that the other lady was still conscious.