Etosha National Park: Elephant

At the risk of stating the obvious, elephant are big. They command the attention of people, and other animals at a waterhole tend to wander away when elephant come along.

This elephant, and the rhino in the background, were photographed at night at Okaukuejo waterhole. The waterhole is lit with red light, and the colour balance of this photo has been changed to take out the red tint.

Elephant often follow a set routine at a waterhole. First they drink, then have a mud bath, then a dust bath. This baby elephant took the mud bath very seriously, swinging his trunk alternatively left and right, although he only ever covered a small section of his body.

An elephant mum suckling her baby at Goas waterhole.

This family had to fight to drink at the waterhole. Before they arrived, another family had visited the waterhole, but one male had stayed behind. That single male challenged this family when they arrived, defecated in the water just as they were to drink, and followed them around to the other side of the waterhole.

The main male hustled his family together, put the kids in between the adults, and left them in safety while he went to confront the challenger. The confrontation was peaceful, and they seemed to work things out. The single male left to follow his family (now long gone), leaving this family free to drink and bath.