Dispatches

Wildlife

Elephants without borders

A.J.T. Johnsingh S. Murali

 

A herd of bull elephants in the Savuti region of the Chobe National Park (11,700 sq. km) in Botswana. Photo: S. Murali
A bull in an overused habitat. Bulls who are responsible for the death of trees from ring barking and uprooting may have a daily range of 15-20 km from water-available areas. Photo: S. Murali
Watching wildlife from cruising boats is popular on the Chobe river. Photo: Mike Johnsingh
A debarked baobab tree. The elephants debark and feed on the fleshy interior part of the stem. This behaviour is much more widely prevalent in the dry season and in the very dry areas. Photo: A.J.T. Johnsingh
Mopane trees in the Moremi Game Reserve with no signs of elephant feeding as they are far from any perennial source of water. Photo: A.J.T. Johnsingh
A bull on the waterfront and broken trees behind him. Photo: Mike Johnsingh
A cow and her grown-up calf at an artificial waterhole. Photo: A.J.T. Johnsingh
Calves are kept in the middle of the herd because of the threat from lions. Photo: Mike Johnsingh
More young were seen in areas where perennial water was available. Photo: A.J.T. Johnsingh
One has to be wary of the hippos while travelling by boat in the Okavango river. Photo: A.J.T. Johnsingh
Marabou storks nesting in the Okavango Delta. Photo: A.J.T. Johnsingh
The real fan palm. The elephants eat the fruit and this helps with seeds dispersal. Photo: A.J.T. Johnsingh
The broken elephant dung indicates that the helmeted guineafowl get a good amount of their food from it. Photo: A.J.T. Johnsingh
Cruising by mokoro (a type of canoe common in the Okavango Delta) on the narrow Khwai river, one can observe and photograph elephants close up. Here, unruffled young bulls on the riverbank. Photo: A.J.T. Johnsingh
A man in his donkey-driven cart in a mopane woodland. Photo: A.J.T. Johnsingh
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