16 Aug, 2008

In Etosha, chalky white mud provides protection against parasites and the hot sun.

We wanted to film animals against the backdrop of Namibia's Etosha Pan today, so we set out for the Salvadora waterhole.

En route we noticed a lone elephant bull (Loxodonta africana) on the horizon.

He was sauntering towards the edge of the pan and we anticipated that he would later head towards Salvadora to drink.

On the way we stopped at Sueda, another water point a short distance from Salvadora. Here we filmed scenic shots of the landscape, with the outstretched pan in the background.

Sueda is a spring with a very high salt content – almost 3 000mg a litre – so animals do not favour it as a drinking spot.

The lone bull that we had seen earlier arrived at the Sueda spring and carefully entered the shallow, chalk-coloured water. He settled down and gently dipped his trunk into the murky mixture of clay and water.

With sheer abandon, he churned up the clay mixture, swinging trunk and feet to and fro. In the process he splashed underbelly, ears, head and hide with mud. It was a delight to watch him curl his trunk around his tusks and smear the mud over his face.

This chalky grayish mud apparently rids the elephant's skin of parasites and also helps to protect it from the harsh sun.

The bull remained at the spring for some time. A large part of his dark body was now redecorated with chalky mud and with this new coating and muddy white 'boots' he carefully stepped over the slippery areas and sauntered off across the pan.

We moved on to Salvadora – a distance of about 2km (1.2mi) by road. Unlike Sueda, the spring at Salvadora has good water quality – only 300mg/litre – and is therefore used for drinking by many animals in the vicinity.

Soon after our arrival the bull elephant arrived too. I was amazed at this big animal's pace and the fact that he had reached this point so soon. He headed straight for the water’s edge, a short distance in front of us. His stride had become urgent and with a few shakes of his head and ears, he indicated that he was annoyed.

We were thrilled to film this animal at an otherwise empty spring. He seemed content to spend a fair amount of time drinking the clear water.

By this time it was late afternoon and he eventually quenched his thirst. Without warning he climbed the shallow sandbank next to our vehicle – no more than 10m (33ft) away from us.

We beat a hasty retreat to a safe distance and watched him walk away over the flat plains.

– by Linda Louw and Pierre Minnie, Earth-Touch crew © Earth-Touch

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