Clash of the Titans
Watching these huge mammals browsing in the brush is awe inspiring to say the least. To pass a fully grown bull elephant in the road is humbling but to see two "teenagers" at odds with one another is in a class all of its own.
Lismore Waterhole at Addo Elephant National Park was the scene of the clash, brief and powerful yet not brutal, where two young bulls confront one another.
When we stopped at the waterhole there was a small family of elephants lazily drinking water. The two cows were accompanied by three calves of varying ages, the one calf was still very young.
The baby was not really interested in the water, he preferred mother's milk and typical of all youngsters, looking for trouble. In this instance it was the Turtle Doves, ears flapping he would chase them away just because he could.
Not long after we stopped a new herd emerged from the brush to the south. This herd was somewhat larger, sporting two teenage bulls, a very very young calf and at least two fully grown cows. The young calf belonged to one of the younger cows.
My immediate thoughts were "here comes trouble with a capital T" but elephants are more sophisticated than that and have rather intricate relationships. The cow with the young calf moved hastily away from the waterhole while the other cow went at a leisurely pace straight to the new arrivals, meeting the striding and all to obvious happy group led by a young mother and very small calf in tow. An older youngster on her heels with the rest of the herd not far behind. Ironic that this peaceful meeting was at the spot where the head bones of a long gone giant lay spread around.
Bonds were re-established, greetings made and the new arrivals moved straight on to the waterhole.
What is really impressive, is to see these huge, really huge animals lumbering along and then these tiny little ones dwarfed by the massive legs and bodies of the adults .... no they never step on the babies!
This baby is so young he still has a good covering of hair over his back, dwarfed by the huge adults and older calves he leans up against his mother's foreleg for a tender moment. Elephants are undoubtedly very affectionate!
Just a peaceful gathering at the waterhole or not? All of a sudden you could feel the tension as two young bulls confronted one another at the waterhole. First just a tangle of trunks then the more serious business of who is boss started.
Watching how nimble these giants can be, how fast they can move those huge bodies is riveting stuff. The tussle was soon over or so we thought. The one bull sported a red stain on the rear of the hindlimb, possibly from a previous clash.
What was surprising was that during this whole encounter not one of the other elephants seemed bothered, not even the rather large bull that was part of the second herd. He had probably seen these two squabble more often than not!
After a quick turn at the waterhole the two once again got into a tussle that was soon stopped when the one turned around, trunk up in the air and ears flapping he charged at his tormentor. You could see that he had had enough and told the aggressor exactly how he felt, that was enough and almost immediately calm took over.
It is rather scary seeing two obviously teenagers but none the less huge animals getting into a squabble. The dexterity exhibited was unbelievable and the speed they covered ground was incredible. One moment they were at the waterhole, next they were heading towards the vehicles and then momentarily back at the waterhole and then off in the opposite direction.
To see elephants in the wild is what Addo is all about but seeing these sort of interactions is what makes a trip into nature so very special and rewarding. This is one clash of the titans we will not easily forget!
