On a morning boat safari, we were fortunate enough to spot a beautiful herd of elephants. Fascinatingly, this also included a tiny calf that simply stole our hearts.

Asiatic Elephants (Elephas maximus)

The water had receded from the dam, exposing a stretch of grass between it and the tree line. This is where we spotted the elephants. We were elated as we watched the gentle giants graze peacefully. As our boat moved closer to the shore, the herd was disturbed by our presence. I guessed it was particularly the presence of the tiny calf that caused them to move inside and hide in the thickets.

Asiatic Elephants (Elephas maximus)

However, the Matriarch, the leader of the herd, brazenly walked towards us, obviously in an attempt to scare us away. We understood that we were intruders in their territory. Hence, much as we longed to stay on and watch these fascinating animals for a while more, we were forced to move away so as to allow the herd to continue with their grazing.

Asiatic Elephant (Elephas maximus)

I find that wildlife never ceases to fascinate me, irrespective of the number of encounters I have with the same species during safaris at Orange County, Kabini.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 30th, 2010 at 5:46 pm and is filed under Herbivores, Mammals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.