What are the Big 5?
Part 3 – The African Elephant
The African Elephant. Today I will be writing more about the amazing African Elephant and some of the history as to how the Elephant got the reputation as one of the African Big 5 animals.
Previously on my blog posts on “What are the Big 5”, I touched on two of the Big 5, the African Buffalo and the African Lion. Thinking as if I was visiting South Africa for the first time or Africa for an African Safari Tour, the Elephant would be one of the animals I would most definitely want to encounter on safari!
Briefly as we have covered this question in the previous two blog posts on the other two of the big 5, Lion and Buffalo…
What are the Big 5.
The simple answer is that the term “Big 5” originates from hunters.
So, the Big 5 the five most dangerous animals to hunt on foot! And who are these animals? Why would people hunt them? and why are they so dangerous to hunt on foot?
Below we will be discussing the Elephant and answering the above questions, and I will add in some cool stories from my guiding career and fun facts about the Elephant.
The Big 5, African Elephant.
So why would anyone want to hunt an Elephant?
Hunting of Big game has become a big industry over many years, may people visit South Africa or Africa not only for an Eco-Safari Tour but also to Trophy hunt.
So, there are three parts to the history of hunting Elephants, controlled Trophy hunting and illegal poaching of Elephant for Ivory as well as controlled culling to keep numbers the Elephant down to ensure ecosystem equilibrium.
Illegal hunting/poaching of Elephants for their tusks which are ivory.
For many years Ivory has been a big trading “item” between countries and Africa having larger Elephants than Asia, meaning larger tusks meant that they have been even more targeted.
You are probably wondering why people even put value on Ivory in the first place, but we can answer that question by saying why did we ever put value on gold or diamonds?
So, the basic answer is that it looks pretty and with Elephant tusks you would be able to carve elaborate figures into the Ivory which people obviously liked.
Demand grew over time, and this led to a massive flock of people to Africa to hunt Elephants for its Tusks.
Elephant Trophy Hunting
The second part of the story of hunting Elephants would be for the Trophy, the tusks and head which could be mounted in your bar, restaurant, home etc
Ethical hunters pay a lot of money to come to Africa on a controlled hunt, this could mean that there is an over population of Elephant in a game reserve be it private or national park.
Elephants and High Numbers
I am not an advocate for hunting Elephant, but I do understand that Elephants in very high numbers can destroy the habitat for other species and as we have fenced them off in controlled environments because we no longer live at peace with nature, there is a need for controlling populations to save others.
Elephants and their size
The reason high number of Elephant cause destruction is due to their size; an adult bull Elephant can weight 6000 kilograms and will need to eat 300 kilograms of plant material per day. This is limited to grass but, roots, bark, bulbs, berries, fruit, twigs etc. Not being very selective means trees will be pushed over more so during the dry season so that they can reach the smaller succulent shoots higher up the tree.
A herd of Elephant can reach over 100 animals and as you can imaging the breeding herds need to move through areas quicker as they have many mouths to feed and this causes destruction.
So why are Elephants so dangerous to hunt on foot?
Well, the breeding herds consist of a Matriarch (dominant female) who is usually the oldest female in the herd. The reason for this is because being able to live up to 60 years they will remember the drought years and know exactly where to lead the herd to find water and food. Females as you know produce young and when a female is pregnant or menstruating there are hormonal changes which can cause her to become aggressive and protective.
Musth
Males also come it a stage of there lives called Musth where they have much higher levels of testosterone which the signals they are at the peak of their sexual maturity, and this attracted the female to them for mating purposes.
Male and female Elephant having these hormonal changes can make them very aggressive so as a hunter on foot they can be very dangerous to hunt. There is nothing fun about being charged and mauled by an Elephant. They are very unpredictable in this state of hormone level fluctuations that if you get in the way, terrible things can happen.
It’s important to understand animal behaviour if you are going to conduct bush walks and game drives like I have been fortunate to do over the past 20 years. I’ve been blessed to work for some luxury lodged in the Sabi Sands, Southwest Kruger Park whereas a game ranger/field guide I got to learn this skill in the field after learning from the books…
The books help but remember the animals don’t read the books we write about them, in other words they can still be unpredictable.
When evaluating Elephants emotional/hormonal state you can look at the temporal glands which sit between the ear and the eye. When tension is high for what every reason these glands will weep down the face almost looking like tears.
With male Elephants that are in Musth you can also look between there legs as the penis dribbles urine. Your nose will most definitely help as they stink! A very strong “Musthy” smell that is incredible pungent cannot be missed.
Watch a Video of the 5 legged Elephant
I have been very fortunate over the years since I began my career in field guiding and tour guiding, to have been able to share my passion for wildlife.
Cool guiding stories of Elephants sighting in the South African game reserves with Tim Brown.
Over the years I have been lucky enough to experience many amazing sightings of Elephants doing special things.
Sightings like Elephant mourning over a dead family member, Elephants fighting, Elephant charging cars, Elephant walking around the lodges, Elephants pulling out underground water pipes, mating, Elephant chasing other animals away from watering holes, drinking from our lodge swimming pool to watching a newborn Elephant trying to find his feet.
There is definitely more but those spring to mind while I type here. If you would like to view some of these amazing experiences I have witnessed click the video below, like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. There is a treasure trove of amazing footage.
Video – Elephant visiting earth lodge
In 2010 I started my tour company “Tim Brown Tours” where I was able to share even more with our overseas visitors. Moving from just wildlife into sharing South African and mostly Zulu culture and historical Anglo-Zulu Battlefields tours.
My focus has been to showcase KwaZulu Natal here on the Southeastern part of South Africa meaning we have become specialists in the area being now regarded as a highly ranked Safari Tour company through client’s reviews on the Tim Brown Tours Tripadvisor page.
If you are interested in travelling to South Africa, Durban is one of the best places to be for several reasons:
- Durban has a very moderate climate and beautiful beaches.
- Durban is within 3-hour drive to the world renowned and oldest game reserve in Africa “Hluhluwe Imfolozi Big 5 game reserve”
- Durban is also within 3 hours of the majestic Drakensberg mountains and Lesotho the mountain kingdom, the highest country in the world.
- Durban is also within a 3-hour drive of the Anglo-Zulu and Anglo-Boer battlefield sites.
- Durban is again within 3-hours drive of KwaZulu Natal’s two world heritage sites: Isimangaliso Wetland Park and Hluhluwe Imfolozi game reserve.
As you can see Durban, KwaZulu Natal is the best place to visit in South Africa with some much to offer.
If you are interested in visiting South Africa, drop us an email or WhatsApp and we will ensure your time touring with us is magical!
