Elephant Voices

Their communication and interests

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Meeting the elephant Hazel

Category: 1. General News, 2. Field News Kenya, Elephant Photos | Date: Jan 25 2008 | By: admin

In a posting on 1st January I mentioned that we had seen in the central part of the park many of the families that live in the western corner of the park and in Tanzania. As Amboseli’s elephant population has grown, and as protection for them has increased, elephants have been moving further afield. The National Park is only 390 sq km and yet Amboseli’s population roams over some 5,000 sq km. One of “our” males has been radio tracked by Alfred Kikoti over near Lake Natron, Tanzania and another one was seen near Mtito Andei (both more than 150 km away). Several Amboseli family groups have moved to Tanzania and now live near the village of Tinga-Tinga 20 km south of the border. It is always exciting to see these individuals “on safari” in the center of the park.

Over the years, one or two families have been able to move from the drier west into the more productive central part of the park - in elephant terms this is equvalent to moving into a better neighbourhood, moving up in society. This is because elephants in the central part of the park are more successful in reproductive terms than are those in the west. One family (once two families in a bond group) is the HBBC group. The HB family was once led by the beautiful and elderly Horatia. Horatia’s daughter, Hazel, is now matriarch, a beauty in her own right. We met her several times during our stay. Her long straight tusks are exquisite and almost as thick and long as her mother’s once were.

Joyce

Hazel and family in front of Kilimanjaro

Hazel and family in front of Kilimanjaro

Hazel’s beautiful tusks

Hazel’s beautiful tusks.

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13 Responses to “Meeting the elephant Hazel”

F. J. PECHIR, on 25 Jan 2008

Thank you for share with us this stories, their´re great!

F. J. PECHIR, on 25 Jan 2008

Sorry “they are great”

sheryl, washington dc, on 25 Jan 2008

Wow, I’ve never seen a photo of tusks like Hazel’s. Amazing.

s.

Lisa, California, on 25 Jan 2008

Hazel is gorgeous. Thanks for sharing the photos. Lisa

Pam/Shell Beach CA, on 25 Jan 2008

She is beautiful!

Annie/Texas, on 25 Jan 2008

Isn’t she lovely….I am sure she is a wise old soul…thank you for sharing..please protect her!

THERESA SISKIND, on 25 Jan 2008

Truly amazing, this gourgous elle girl! Joyce, I’m sure you have covered this in earlier blogs but what are the differences in African and Asian elephant sounds. Would they be able to communicate with each other or would their sence of vibration be enough?

Mark, on 25 Jan 2008

Do you think that the families that moved to Tanzania were returning to their former range? I remember Cynthia saying that elephants were moving into the park from all around when she started her study.

Anna, on 28 Jan 2008

Thanks again for sharing your stories and pictures, I think I can recall Horatia being mentined somewhere before, could have been in Cynthia Moss’s Elephant memories… Anna

Joyce, on 28 Jan 2008

Hi Mark,

Nice to see you here! I think that you are probably correct that some of the elephants who have moved to Tanzania may well have been those that moved into Amboseli in the late 1960s and early 1970s when there was a lot of poaching in the surrounding areas - particularly in the triangle between Kilimanjaro, Ol Donyo Orok and Longido - west of Amboseli. Thanks for the observation, Mark….Joyce

ElephantVoices, on 28 Jan 2008

Hi Theresa,

Actually I haven’t covered the differences between Asian and African elephant sounds. They both produce very low frequency(partly below human hearing) rumbles, and they both trumpet, roar, scream, cry, and snort. But Asian elephants make chirping sounds and they also produce a phssst-sort of sound associated with thumping their trunks on the ground. The former i heard when they are excited and the latter especially when they are alarmed - at least in my limited experience. I will try to pull together some comparisons to share with you.

My guess is that if Asian and African elephants lived together they would learn to understand each other’s use of calls - even though their use of even similar calls is somewhat different. Even I started to get the hang of it pretty quickly! Joyce

THERESA SISKIND, on 28 Jan 2008

Chirping sounds! Imitating the sounds of trucks! One has to wonder what part their environment plays with their communication. Joyce, very interesting information, you two have a great job!

Courtney, on 23 Apr 2008

She’s so beautiful and wrinkly! Lol

From,

Courtney and Malayah

P.S. we’re in school right now!!!!

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