Elephant Voices

Category: 2. Field News Kenya | Date: Dec 29 2007 | By: admin

Hi All,

After a few relaxing days on the Kenya coast we arrived back in Amboseli on the evening of 27^th. We were able to drive through Tsavo West on the way to the coast and through Tsavo East on the return journey. The two Tsavos amount to 22,000 sq km of national park – one of the biggest protected areas in the world. It was great to see how calm the Tsavo elephants are now. Back in the late 1980s, when the poaching of elephants for ivory was really high, Joyce did a survey of Tsavo’s elephants. Then they ran from approaching vehicles, but now they are almost as relaxed as Amboseli’s elephants. We watched three males engaged in relaxed sparring in the ankle-deep Galana River and many other groups, too.

The 27^th was election day in Kenya. Now, the 29^th, we are still waiting as some delayed results trickle in!

Meanwhile, we are back to work with several more playbacks accomplished. There has been a bit of rain outside the park and most of the elephants have been away for a few days to enjoy pasture further afield. There were only a couple of families in the park yesterday.

Early this morning we found the AA family on the eastern side of Ol Tukai Orok – an area they don’t usually enter, but may have felt emboldened to visit since the usual occupants were away! Anghared’s 2007 male calf was thrilled to meet a gaggle of egrets around the feet of its family members and had an elephant-of-a-time chasing them about! Notice the tone of his trumpet when you play the video clip!

We were fortunate to watch several groups as they returned to the park and arrived at the swamp edge. After a couple of days without water they were extremely thirsty and there was much excitement and jostling for best position.

Cheers, Petter and Joyce