How privileged we are to have elephants still living among us, coping with us although we farm where they want to feed and build where their ancient, traditional migratory routes used to be.

Here's a mom and calf crossing a lagoon.

Spot the calf following the mom in the photo below. Elephants can swim well. Sometimes when they cross deep water, all you can see is a trunk, acting like a snorkel out of the water.

Elephants and migration

What a shame that our developments have cut deep into the migration routes of our pachyderm friends. In his epic poem, Manzovo: Place of the Elephants, written by Gary Albyn and illustrated by Craig Bone, Albyn conjures up the enormity of the migrations of the past.

From the book jacket comes this description of the obstacles an elephant herd has to overcome in its journey.

Nestled like a rare jewel in the inhospitable but alluring Zambezi Valley, Mana Pools provides the early setting for the episodic story of Manzovo - place of the elephants.

Thandi, now at the height of her prime, is the astute and respected matriarchal head of a herd of elephants. She gives birth to Lesedi—the last of her five calves—and thus begins their sweeping journey through the bushveld and across the open vistas of southern Africa.

While the herd has to deal with their brushes with predators, farmers, poachers and culling gangs alike, their odyssey across southern Africa also embraces some of the cultures, natural wonders and landmarks that give character to this region. So too are described encounters with some of the floral and faunal species unique to this part of the continent.

This astonishing poem portrays their epic travels at a time in our past when elephants were able to range, with relative ease, across the timeless plains of Africa.

More information on elephant migration can be found here and here.

Now unfortunately they are largely constrained to walk only within the boundaries of national and private parks, where they are (mostly) protected, have access to food and where they do not clash with humans.

A few pics - because elephants

For many years, elephant were rarely, if ever, spotted in the Lower Zambezi National Park, especially on the Zambian side. This was the heartbreaking outcome of rampant poaching, much of it committed only to obtain the elephant's tusks.

However, in recent years, the elephant population in the park has begun to recover, and sights like this (while still rare) are becoming more common.

Here's a pretty typical shot by an amateur photographer of an elephant. It's surprising how such a big creature can become nearly invisible even if it's less than 10m away.

Here's another typical shot....

Sometimes you get luckier, though. Although this isn't an award-winning photo, it tells you how close we were to this elephant, along with the dozen or so others that were feeding alongside it in the reeds.

These amazing creatures, about which we know so much and yet so little, deserve our respect and protection.

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