Two nights ago I camped on the shores of Great Ruaha River, near Mikumi National Park. Was busy photographing gazelle, and walked right into a family of elephants, just metres away. The mummy spread out her ears to look big and intimidating; she really did not need to try to look any bigger. That was a tad hairy! Surrounding hills were all covered with the iconic African Baobab trees.
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| Gazelle |
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| Elephants amongst African Baobab trees |
Last night camped on a banana farm in Tukuyu. Villagers were great, brought around a superb 'banana curry'! Desert was also banana. Am not guessing what breakfast might be?!
Here's a clip of Mara, who was known to chase the villagers on a regular basis. My guess is she was just a little bored and looking for some light entertainment, or perhaps she was on her period? What do you think girls?
An elephant's top speed is about 25 mph (40 kph). They normally only reach this top speed on rare occasions when they are scared or upset. They normally move at a much lower running speed of about 12 to 20 mph (19 to 32 kph) depending on the species, temperate and other factors. However, they tend to stick to a steady walking speed of about 4 mph (6 kph) under normally circumstances.
You can't tell how many of its' family were killed for Ivory. Maybe her cab was transformed into American Dollars ? Maybe her son's teeth decorates some rich capitalist's house in New York? Maybe her living space became oil field and they're starving now (the elephants, not the capitalists !)
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