Trunks and Tusks – Afternoon Snack

It was the usual early start for Christiane, Jutta and I, enjoying a quick breakfast before heading out in search of the desert elephant herd. Once again we were not talking about a large number of animals, to the point that each elephant had been named by the guides at camp. Quite a difference from what we expected to find in Botswana in a few days, but this was a very interesting elephant who had adapted to life in the desert with limited food and water resources. We headed east up the river bed for the first time……..don’t question it, Rocky knows what he is doing.

It didn’t take long before we were spotting elephants making their way downstream, where we had just come from, to drink at the “Presidential” water hole…….man made, and second in the series from camp. Feeding as they went, Rocky explained these elephants will prune a tree of its leaves rather than totally destroying it as their cousins in Botswana might. Those guys will knock a tree over, devour it, and move on to the next tree, but if the desert elephants do that, they will run out of trees in a hurry. They also feed on a variety of seed pods and other goodies they find on the ground. Really cool watching them work. Thinking about having one of my arms removed and installing a trunk……..man if I can’t grip a golf club with that thing, look out.

There were many more sightings this morning, but the pictures alone can tell the story. We stopped on a high rocky plateau for coffee with amazing views of the river, then headed back to the water hole to try and catch the elephants bathing……one of Jutta’s boxes to check.

We enjoyed another great lunch at the lodge…….afternoon siesta while trying to stay cool in 40 degree heat, then back into the truck for our excursion to the kill site. Rocky figured the lions would still be eating the oryx, and he was right once again. If you don’t want to see, don’t go any further…….pretty graphic, but real.