Jambo and Karibu to day five of Africas big five that youll have the possibility of seeing in Tanzania on our Dancing on Africas Rooftop trip November 1-14, 2014. Saved the biggest and gentlest for day five. To see them move as a herd, interact, learn and protect is fascinating and memorizing to me. Elephants form deep family bonds and live in tight matriarchal family groups of related females called a herd. The herd is led by the oldest and often largest female in the herd, called a matriarch. Herds consist of 8-100 individuals depending on terrain and family size. When a calf is born, it is raised and protected by the whole matriarchal herd. Calves weigh between 200-250lbs at birth. At birth, a calfs trunk has no muscle tone, therefore it will suckle through its mouth. It takes several months for a calf to gain full control of its trunk. Recent discoveries have shown that elephants can communicate over long distances by producing a sub-sonic rumble that can travel over the ground faster than sound through air. Other elephants receive the messages through the sensitive skin on their feet and trunks. It is believed that this is how potential mates and social groups communicate. At the turn of the 20th century, there were a few million African elephants. Today, there are an estimated 450,000 - 700,000 African elephants. The video is from my trip to Tanzania in January this year. A younger male letting us know hes got his mom and siblings backs. :-)
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 19:20:10 +0000
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