In Zimbabwe, I seek for a unprecedented elephant who’s discovered to face on two legs to achieve the very best leaves.
African Elephants are the biggest land mammals on earth, standing as much as 11 toes tall, weighing over 6 tonnes, and dwelling in big herds of as much as 100 people.
By standing on their hind legs, a number of elephants have taken their energy to a brand new stage
Mana Swimming pools, Zimbabwe
Mana Swimming pools is house to 12,000 elephants – the second largest focus in Zimbabwe – and some people listed below are identified all over the world for the distinctive means to face on their again legs. The method offers them the sting over rivals since they will attain excessive up into the bushes to feed when vegetation decrease down has dried up. One of many wonderful issues about Mana Swimming pools is the flexibility to watch wildlife on foot. With the assistance of a educated native information you may get actually shut!
An elephant named Fred
And it isn’t lengthy earlier than our skilled information introduces us to a big bull elephant named Fred. Fred is among the people right here who has mastered the talent of standing on his again legs – in truth he was named after Fred Astaire due to the fragile approach he dances as he shifts his weight into his again legs. Sadly for us, there was sufficient vegetation inside attain so he did not carry out for us the day we noticed him.
Boswell
However our information takes us throughout the savannah and shortly we discover Boswell, an elephant so well-known for this trick he was named after a South African circus. Boswell has turn out to be well-known all over the world after showing on YouTube performing this talent and he is simple to identify. One among his tusks is bigger than the opposite and he wears a monitoring collar which helps conservationists preserve observe of his herds’ actions. He additionally has a really quick, stumpy tail! Watching him rock backwards to shift his weight on to his again legs, after which attain up into the branches of a tall tree you’ll be able to see why he is so admired.
It could possibly’t be simple getting his weight off the bottom, however when one other bull elephant tries to feed from the identical tree you’ll be able to see that it is well worth the effort. Boswell clearly has the benefit over the others within the herd.
Elephants
Elephants can eat nicely over 100kgs of meals a day they usually additionally drink as much as 200l of water – at a fee of three litres a second – and looking out round you’ll be able to see how the panorama has been formed by these goliaths. As soon as the decrease leaves have been stripped, youthful elephants observe Boswell, eager to make the most of his feeding technique!
I got here to Zimbabwe with the hope of witnessing this exceptional behavioural adaptation and Boswell has given a lot extra!
Wildlife journey
If you would like to observe in my footsteps to observe elephants in Zimbabwe, go to my journey web page right here: https://www.robertefuller.com/pages/travel-africa
