Elephant females and young spend most of their time in small family groups of ten to fifteen related individuals, ruled and guided by a matriarch. She is the equivalent of the institutional memory, and her role is to keep the family safe. These small groups gather into larger herds during the rainy season as they search for fresh vegetation. Adult elephants consume up to 400 pounds/180 kilos of vegetation a day. The two youngsters in the picture, however, will still be suckling – when they’re not busy playing that is.
Very cool idea for partners. Wonderful Tish 😀
Thanks, Cee.
Thank you, Tish – so beautiful 🙂
My pleasure 🙂
interesting – I suppose all of us need a nudge from time to time. Glad our parents were there for us. Great photos. Enjoy your weekend and the week ahead.
Many thanks, Clay, for your thoughts.
Great photographs, Tish
Thanks, Ian. They’re approaching vintage status these days. Hey ho. Too long out of Africa 🙂
I have about a hundred photos of elephants taken this visit to Zambia.
Well if you’ve got one in your sights, they’re too good to miss 🙂
nudge nudge – what endearing pairs you’ve captured. I do ike your description of the matriarch – perhaps also guardian of the collective unconscious
Yes, that’s a good description too, ours or theirs or all the world’s? 🙂 Although it’s hard to know if elephants have an unconscious, they have such high-powered sensory communication systems. I’d like to think I had an elephant for a guardian though – in whatever capacity.
These are lovely photographs. Much Wenlock is Much more interesting than I could of ever imagined.
Do help out with their diet from your allotment?
Oh you! Didn’t you know, I magic heffalumps out of Silurian deposits, and they roam about the Edge trumpeting at Brexit personages 🙂
great post
THank you, Mukul.
welcome
Lovely photos Tish. I’ve saved them to show the twins, with all due acknowledgements to you of course! Mum’ll need all the vegetation she can get if she’s suckling babies that size.
I was rather amazed to learn that the ‘babies’ are still fed at 4 years old, by which time they will have grown little tusks, and be even bigger than the ones in the photos. Lovely that you are showing these eles to the twins.
Beautiful photos, Tish. Elephants are such majestic creatures.
Majestic is the word, Julie. They have such presence. Just to think of them gives me shivers down my spine.
Elephants are really a fascinating creature with several almost “human” comparable features – I am not referring to the old male rogue elephant (in dutch: ronkedoor) – nor the musth act which seems a bit “human” too, when a male may stop showing signs of musth when he encounters a musth male of higher rank… 😀
My thoughts turned more about their social structure… 🙂
Beautiful captured… 🙂
Yes, their social structure is fascinating. The fact that they appear to understand death, and mourn a lost fellow. Or have been known to protect a wounded human by covering them with branches or moving them into the shade of a tree. There’s much to discover about the elephant mind.
Wonderful creatures Tish. It seems a few people have used animal shots for this challenge.
Very cute – great team work!
Love ellies and these are gorgeous shots!
I really love elephants and those are great pictures. How great that you have such wonderful pictures from Africa.
They’re all rather ageing shots now though, and the Nikon scanner gave up the ghost before I could finish scanning the collection. Ah well. These elephant shots are my favourites, and scanned fairly well.
Wonderful photos, Tish! 🙂 We all need to escape into elephant world for a while.
You know that does sound a very appealing option, Jo. One thing elephants don’t tell lies. I think we can be fairly sure on that 🙂
Exactly! Happy Sunday, Tish 🙂
cool … First photo is really sweet.
“Words are made for telling lies” somebody wrote….
That’s the reason why animals obey to their instincts without ever cheating you…
Great choice,Tish!
Heart, Melting.
Wonderful photographs.
Alison
The most, the most beautiful post! I find elephants endearing though I only climbed on top of one once.