Hello Ellie!
An “Ellie” is elephant in British English. I have had a few close calls with them so far. The first occured at Lake Manyara N.P. in Tanzania. The truck in front of us was close to a family and most of the family cut across the road to get to more food (the life of an elephant basically consists of eating). There was a very young one and as they moved closer to us in the second truck a situation arose where the first truck was between the small one and a very large one. That’s not a good situation and the big elephant started to charge the first truck. Both guides through the trucks in reverse as the elephant attacked. A charge is basically a run at the intruder with the elephant shaking its head and trumpeting its trunk. We were all a bit shaken up and I was reminded that I had been within ten feet of elephants the day before in Tarangire N.P. when the guide decided we were too close. I got a photo of the charging elephant, but it was over-exposed due to lack of time to adjust. Maybe that makes the encounter have that much more meaning.
We were close to another bull that day when he started to pee. The six of us were quite intrigued by his “second trunk” which had to be about two meters in length and we were astonished when he itched his belly with it afterwards. I said to Ben “what you can’t do that with yours?” 🙂
Aside before I continue with elephants…. I woke up at 3:00 AM one morning at Keekorok Lodge in Masai Mara due to animal sounds. I thought there was something in my room, but a check found nothing. I decided it was a monkey outside the window so I pulled open the curtains to tell him to keep it down. I was quite confused because I could not see any lights that are around the grounds. I was trying to focus when all of a sudden a giraffe head lifted up into my view no more than a meter from my head. His body had been sideways across my window about two meters out while eating a bush under my window. I jumped and he jumped and then I just broke up laughing as he strolled away to eat somewhere else.
While on a walking tour at Tena Tena campsite (Robin Pope Safaris in Zambia) one morning, we came across three elephants on one side of the road. The guide pushed us quickly off the road because we were way too close for comfort. Luckily, he decided we had an opportunity to get back on the road and move quickly towards the camp which was only a couple of hundred meters down the road. After walking a few meters further on the road we discovered more elephants in the woods on the side that we originally headed. It would have been very interesting if we had taken a trail in the woods and came across them that much closer.
So we get back to camp and eat lunch while the elephants came to the camp property. The employees were a bit on edge knowing it was likely the elephants were coming in for food (tamarind fruit). We ate peacefully and then I retired to my tent for siesta. I decided to listen to my iPod for one of the first times while on safari. I was lying there with elephants not on my mind when all of a sudden a crash occured and I jumped a few feet knowing the sound could only be from the new visitors. Ironically, a song called Close to the Edge (Yes) was playing when my Odyssey with Ellie began.
I was tempted to blow the whistle supplied with each tent, but I knew the staff was well aware of what was going on. I looked out my tent windows and there were three elephants right there. My next action was to grab my camera of course! I had a mom, a large bull yougster and a tiny baby paying me a visit. Actually, they only had their minds on food and paid no attention to me. So I was taking pictures which clearly showed elephants right outside my tent when the little one decided he was going to come into my tent and my door was totally unzipped – oops!!! I did have an extra bed so his choice of tents seemed logical. I started backpedaling quickly into the dressing room portion of the tent (yes, these are tents like I have never seen before… more about them when I spill the beans on safaris), but I forgot about the lip in the side and I tripped. Thankfully that was enough to stop him as his trunk was investigating the opening (footprints were one meter from the entrance) and he retreated to mom.
Mom then decided that she wanted to swim in the muddy lagoon so she put her trunk under the electric fence (turned off) and lifted it until a post came out and then walked under it (I have very clear photos of this maneuver). That left the little one and the not-so-little one. He took another look inside my tent and then followed mom while the other one was on the camp side of my tent. Now I had a problem because they were on two sides with me in between. I got very scared when I moved into the dressing area and I was right between the two of them. I retreated further into the outside bathroom which had more substantial walls – believe me, not substantial enough to stop the bull if he realized I was between him and little sibling. Thankfully, the small one bolted towards mom and the bull moved to the other side. The finale was the bull stepping over the fence (forgot to clear it though with his hind leg) and the staff asking how I was doing while I cowered in the shower.
Elephants are my favorite animal in Africa so far, but they do present some major issues. Obviously, close contact with humans will raise anyone’s hairs, but they also cause a lot of problems in the local communities. Mostly, they leave the parks (no one has figured out how to get them to follow the park rules) and create havoc in local farms. Given that most of it is subsistance farming, the locals are rightfully upset. I saw a farm property with chilies hanging and that is supposedly helping to keep them away at a fair enough cost. With a nose like theirs a hot chile may just be the trick. Just like I enjoy crazy rollercoasters, I look forward to my next heart-stopping close encounter with the ellies. I just prefer to not have one as a roomate although I would take one over a hippo anyday!
Tags: Travel
vagabondrick
Having been in the first vehicle between baby and mom, we can attest to the fact that the experience was EXCITING!!
Love keeping up with you! Best
Bibi and Jessica