- Elephant encounter on foot, without a guide
The Kruger has been the home of many of our wildlife encounters in Africa, as we have spent the most time in this place (we trained as field guides here). It is a large reserve and as such there are a variety of places where you can get out of your car. Many of these are rest-stops from places you can spend the night to picnic grounds.
There are also bird hides, and other places of interest, where the rules allow you to get out – at your own risk. There is a particular bird hide, which we used to visit regularly when we were training (there are many weaver birds which build their nests, and on occasions it can be quite deafening).
On our journey up to the hide, we had passed a herd of elephants, but this was quite a distance down the track, so having enjoyed looking at the mothers and babies for a few minutes, we continued on to the hide. Thinking nothing more of the elephants, we enjoyed our time in the hide, though many of the trees had been cut back (or fallen down) so it was not quite the place we remembered from 15 years before.
On leaving the hide, it quickly became apparent that the elephants had continued their journey and had reached the hide as well. They appeared without warning, from behind a bush, as we made the short journey to the car. One might think, how can an elephant be so quiet, but when they choose to, they are able to become extremely quiet (remember that their whole foot is covered in muscles, so they can lift parts of the foot to stop sticks they stand on from breaking.
I have 2 children, at the time 6 and 8. As such, once I realised how close the elephants were, I placed myself between the elephants and our car (and children). The elephants were entering a woodland, and it was only the tail-end of the herd which was still there; in particular the matriarch. We stood around 10m apart for 30 seconds, while the small members of the herd moved into the woodland, and my children got into the car.
It was a wonderful encounter, but there are several things to remember when reading this article.
-We were only out of our car in a place where it was allowed
-As always, we had been very careful when entering and exiting the hide to look around and make sure no animals were visible (this obviously does not say that there is no animals around)
-As with any wild encounter, slow movements, lack of loud noises and doing predictable things means that any sudden movement or attack from the animal is unlikely
-There are few species who naturally look at humans as food (and none in Africa) one of the main exceptions is the polar bear. This means that while there are a wide variety of species in a place like the Kruger, who will attack if they feel threatened, with care and knowledge you can make this very very unlikely. Indeed, attacks from animals like snakes are far more risky. This is not to say that elephants are not dangerous. They are highly intelligent large animals with a great deal of strength. Still, with care, and on their terms, they can get very close without being dangerous.
- Elephants from the camp gate
On our last trip to the Kruger, I went on a trek for a few days – I look forwards to doing this with my wife and children, but for now it was just myself. Walks take place in the morning and late afternoon, which leaves the afternoon free for relaxing or just watching the world go by. I spent a very happy hour, standing by the open gate (it was always left open, as a reminder that few if any of the animals are stopped by a fence or gate) watching an elephant feeding from a tree around 10m away. The elephant was very relaxed, and it is lovely to see an elephant in a state more close to its natural behaviour (when reacting to humans close, this is obviously not how it would behave when there are no people around.
