15 Nov, 2007

An older bull allows a younger ‘askari’ to feed with him and assists the process with a vigorous shake of a branch, bringing fruit raining down to the ground.

Temperatures continue to rise in the Okavango Delta in Botswana but today, thankfully, we saw some significant cloud build-up. This afternoon was heavy and muggy and the rains, which we hope are imminent, will bring relief from the oppressive heat.

Today, once again, we saw signs of large numbers of elephants moving west through the area. We headed up the edge of the Xudum channel north of camp and soon spotted a lone bull elephant moving towards a deep pool. Expecting him to come down and swim, we positioned ourselves opposite him.

He slowly worked his way up the edge of an island towards us but instead of coming to swim began feeding first on a fruit-laden mangosteen tree (Garcinia mangostana) and then an adjacent sycamore fig (Ficus sycomorus).

Mangosteen trees have bright orange fruit and when ripe are much sought after by animals such as elephants, fruit-eating birds, monkeys, baboons and bats.

The elephant fed for a long time, stretching full length up into the trees to get at the fruit and leaves. After a while a young bull emerged from the island behind us, crossed the channel and approached the older bull. He cautiously stood his ground as the older bull shook his head in half-hearted warning. The two then stood a little apart and smelled each other before the older bull accepted the youngster and allowed him to begin feeding alongside him.

When young male elephants reach what we would term puberty at around 12 or 13 years of age, they are pushed out of their maternal herds. What develops can best be described as a mentorship process. The young, inexperienced males join up with more mature bulls and form loosely associated bachelor herds, where they acquire the skills needed to survive in the bush and also within the complicated elephant social structure. With very old bulls, whose sharpness of hearing, eyesight and smell begins to wane, the young bulls become important assistants. These young sidekicks are often called ‘askaris’, referring to the East African term for military escorts.

At one stage during the interaction the big bull gave the mangosteen a strong and extended shake and a lot of fruit dropped onto the ground. He then allowed the youngster to feed on the fruit beside him. It appeared to us that the large bull might have done this, in part at least, to allow the younger one an opportunity to feed on the fruit, something he would not have had the strength to accomplish alone.

The two eventually moved off together, the younger bull staying close on the tail of the older. At one stage, in an apparent rush, he started leading the way but soon changed course when he noticed the older bull heading off in a different direction.

– By Graham Springer and Brad Bestelink, Earth-Touch crew © Earth-Touch

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