|
Years ago Tsukudu had two very young elephants given to them to raise. They walked with the guests in the morning until they were teenagers. They had been living on their own in the wild for quite a while and a few months ago, the girl elephant was seen with a different older bull elephant--not her companion of many years, Tombe. And Tombe hadn't been seen at all for some time. During our walk, suddenly there he was coming down the trail towards us. The older gentleman who owns Tsukugu tried to get him to stop, but Tombe just continued walking right through our large group.
|
I was concerned about fear and panic among the school children, but their leaders simply told them to step off the path and to be quiet and they did. I feel sure they were in awe with the rest of us.
|
An elephant, even just a teenager,is much bigger when you're on the ground than when you are in a vehicle. The owner and the guide were very glad to see Tombe and know that he was all right.
|
There's Tony video taping as Tombe walks by. He could easily have touched him. I was well off the trail on the other side--behind a thorn bush.
|
Tombe stopped and browsed very near us and then went on down the path. When I was sure he was on his way, I came out from my bush to be photographed with an elephant.
|
When we got back to the gate of the camp, there he was again waiting for us.
|
Having him so close gave us a good opportunity to see him and photo things like his eye.......
|
........his extremely agile trunk and his huge foot that, because it's cushioned and spread out, carries less weight per square inch than our own--they say.
|
Tombe knelt down as he had done when he was little for the guide to hand feed him. I think he was very lonely now that the girl elephant had gone off with the older bull from Kruger.
|
It was very funny when the pellets weren't coming fast enough to suit Tombe, he just put his trunk over the guide's head and pulled him in closer. When we were all finished we went back through the gate and shut it. Tombe tried a few times to raise the latch to the gate with his tusks, but when they scolded him, he left.
|
|
I know you're sick of seeing animals in a less than wild state, but there's one more captive situation I want to show you and that's the white lions.
|
Click on the lion pair to go to page sixteen.
|
Home
|
|