Elephant herds gather on the floodplain
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Duration: 03:45Filesize: About 127 MB
Resolution: 1280x720
Filesize: About 59 MB
Resolution: 854x480
30 Sept, 2008
Juvenile elephants tussle and test their strength, while young calves remain close to their mothers.
With the dry conditions and scarcity of food and water in Botswana's Okavango Delta at this time of year, the elephant herds seem to be congregating around areas where there is sufficient grazing and water to sustain their large numbers.
This evening we came across several herds of elephant that had come together around the edge of the same floodplain, using well-worn elephant paths that run through this area just west of Dead Tree Island.
There must have been about 60 elephants on the floodplain.
The herds consisted of many cows and their young calves, slightly older juveniles, and one particularly large bull that lagged at the back of the herds.
Some of the elephants moved into the green swamp, where they grazed on the fresh reeds, pulling them out by the roots, and only just managing to free their legs from the sticky mud in order to move on to the next patch of nutritious vegetation.
Some of the other elephants chose to browse on acacia trees and other shrubs slightly further away from the water. They moved between the countless dead trees and onto the dry salt pans where they continued to dust themselves with the powdery white sand.
The herd threw the sand over their backs in an attempt to rid their hides of parasites and flies.
The younger elephants were very boisterous, and we noticed many of them engaging in friendly tussles, intertwining their trunks and locking their tusks against one another.
The calves stayed close to their mothers, following their every footstep and feeding from the same trees and shrubs. The herd members were strongly protective of one another and in particular the calves, watching us closely and with concern when we slowly approached them.
The herds moved past us slowly and started to converge as the sun was setting, obviously planning to head along the paths that offered the most grazing and water.
– by Julie King, Earth-Touch crew © Earth-Touch
More about this clip
Country: Botswana
Habitat: Rivers, Lakes and Wetlands, Okavango Delta
Location: Okavango Delta
Tags: Herd, Calf, Juvenile, Floodplain, Salt, Pan, Swamp, Reed, Mud, Stuck, Water, Nutritious, Protect, Young, Breed, Path, Dry, Grazing, Congregate, Vegetation, Acacia, Tree, Sand, Dust, Parasite, Hide, Trunk, Tusk, African elephant, Mammals, Vertebrates, Okavango Delta, Botswana, Africa, Rivers, Lakes and Wetlands
