Top 8 Reasons To See Elephants On Safari : They use their trunks to bend acacia branches while chewing the leaves. They utilize scythe-shaped tusks to excavate for underground water. They have intense emotional lives, mourn their dead, and celebrate births. Elephants are what we’re referring to, you know!
Elephants in Africa are incredibly exciting to see for wildlife enthusiasts. With no fences or gated enclosures, you can observe them in their natural environment on your African Safari with Focus East Africa Tours. They are widely available in many Africa countries including Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda where we operate. Without seeing them, a safari would be incomplete. This is why.
They’re Brainiac
It should come as no surprise that elephants are very intelligent and have long memories because they have the largest brains in the animal kingdom (aside from sperm whales). Even after years have passed, they are still able to recall distant watering holes, food sources, other elephants, and human faces.
You can go on a safari and see one of these locations that elephants frequent year after year. When you visit the lush eco-lodge Gibb’s Farm, just make sure to opt into the afternoon hike to the nearby elephant cave and waterfall. You’ll eventually come across a network of caves carved into a clay Cliffside as you make your way from the resort grounds to the Ngorongoro hillside’s dense jungle.
What makes them known as “elephant caves”? Elephant matriarchs have come here for centuries to dig and eat the calcium-rich soil, which promotes a healthy fetus’ development. Genius!
That trunk is nature’s multitool.
The elephant trunk is a marvel of nature. They are powerful enough to topple trees and delicate enough to pick fruit from branches despite having no bones. Two incredibly precise “fingers” at its tip are to blame for that.
Observing these skillful tools in person leaves a lasting impression. They effortlessly bend, twist, and curl. They serve as dinner forks, snorkels, and water containers for elephants. Just the basics, really!
Elephants have even been observed wrapping their trunks around the trunks of their younger relatives as a sign of greeting or to provide solace during stressful situations.
Being present for this uncomplicated yet amazing moment while on safari serves as a potent reminder of our shared connection to the planet. Few travelers forget the pinch-me-I’m-dreaming moment. And the bellowing of an elephant? LOUD. It can be heard for miles and reaches a volume of 110 decibels, which is comparable to a car horn.
Elephants don’t drink through their trunks, despite what many people think—that would be like a person drinking through their nose! Elephants instead swish water into their mouths as needed after sucking it through their trunk.
They’re highly sensitive and empathic creatures.
It’s unusual for an animal to have an elephant’s capacity for care. If you could look them in the eyes through Focus East Africa Tour’s Land Rovers’ pop-top roofs, you might actually see their compassion.
- Members of the herd will comfort and pet a crying baby elephant with their trunks.
- Elephants remove the spears and medical darts that are fastened to their fellow animals.
- The herd holds a ceremony of touching and trumpeting when a baby is born.
A herd that is in danger gathers to guard the young.
And when an elephant passes away, the herd expresses its sorrow by gently touching the deceased’s skull with their trunks. In the area where their loved one passed away, they are known to pause for several minutes of silence. They’ll continue doing this for a while, always going back to the grave to pay their respects.
They’re ecological engineers.
Elephants are essential to Africa’s ecosystems. Without them, the Serengeti wouldn’t exist up to date. Elephants construct roads. They trample through dense forests, flattening bushes and knocking over trees to make paths for other animals.
Second, they work as foresters. Thousands of seedlings are carried in elephant dung, which sprouts everywhere the animals go. Some seeds can only sprout after passing through the digestive system of an elephant.
Even the smallest elephant footprint can develop into a wonderful miniature ecosystem. Tadpoles and other small organisms can find a home in these prints when it rains.
Elephants wear sunscreen, bug repellent, and moisturizer.
It’s not a spa treatment if you see elephants taking a bath in the rich mud of Tarangire National Park‘s Silale Swamp. They are merely applying sunscreen, those elephants. Additionally, bug spray moisturizer, too. Okay, so maybe it does resemble a spa treatment a little bit—mud is the ideal 3-in-1 for their delicate skin!
Matriarchs Run the Herd
In practically every plain and forest in Tanzania, enormous elephant herds can be seen. Every single one has a wise, elderly grandmother at the head of it. Elephant society is matriarchal, which means that a woman is in charge at all times. She gathers food and water for the family, looks after the young, and teaches the subsequent female generations how to survive.
On one of our Founders’, Ultimate, or Wildlife safaris to the elephant-rich Tarangire National Park, your guide will make it simple for you to spot the matriarch. The largest and oldest female elephant will be leading every herd that passes your Land Rover.
An elephant molar is the size of a brick.
Additionally, their tusks are actually very large ivory incisor teeth. They are stunning, but sadly, poachers see them as easy pickings. Between 2009 and 2014, Tanzania’s elephant population decreased by 60% as a result of poaching and retaliatory human attacks. The endangered status of the African elephant has been impacted by this.
