A safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda - October 2007

ELEPHANT
(Loxodonta africana )

Elephants are the giants of Africa, and everywhere else. They are simply amazing and intelligent animals.

We saw a couple of elephants just shortly after entering the Park (left most photo below). But we also saw the occasional elephant all across the Park. The most amazing sighting came at the Kasinga Channel. A large herd came ambling down the hillside toward the water. There were elephants of all sizes and ages, including one which seemed to be very young.

The African elephants have tusks in both sexes. They tend to favor either the left or right, which results in one tusk being shorter than the other from more frequent use. Their trunks are used for digging, eating, siphoning water for drinking and washing, and other activities.

Elephants form family groups which can be quite large. At the center is the matriarch who presides over several generations. They communicate in a number of different ways. They will also form a tight circle for defense when alramed.

They eat about 5% of their body weight each day! And their diet consists of leaves, grasses, berries, fruit - even twigs. They consume as much as 50 gallons of water daily as well!