I had booked a day safari to Addo Elephant Park for my time in Port Elizabeth.
Addo Elephant Park is a far flung National Park at the East Cape region, it encompasses mountain ranges and valleys, dry riverbeds, watering holes and brush land.
As elephants had been hunted and killed as pests to farms and plantations from their initial number in this region of about 400,000 pachiderms down to about 12, someone realized that they may be gone altogether if they are not protected. Thus - elephant protection parks in many regions of not only South Africa but most of the continent. Addo Elephant Park now has herds and families numbering approximaley 400 Eatern Cape Elephants, one ot three African species. The area is large enough to give lion, zebra, kudu, rhinoceros, leopards and cheetahs a safe refuge as well. The park is protected - as much as that is possible with such a large expanse - to keep poaching at bay. But, rhino horn and elephant trunks being as valuable on the Asian market as they are, incentives to hunt illegally are high. Word has it, that a prominent Pretoria business man uses helicopters to descend onto the hapless rhinos by night, kill the animals, extract their horns and make gazillions on his immoral and illegal trade. Game wardens keep number and location of any rhinos in their parks a well kept secret, at least that what is said.
Some elephant trivia...
Elephants have six set of teeth, which are ground down by feeding and move forward in an elephant's jaw until they fall out. Then the next tooth behind it takes it place. Once all the rows of teeth have been 'consumed', the elphant can no longer chew well and through lack of nutrition becomes weaker. So weak in fact, that he can no longer lift his trunk to drink water. He then wades into a water hole to drink through his mouth, however being weakened, he soon falls over and drowns.
Elephants never forget. Elephants were fed reject citrus fruit by surrounding farmers, who delivered them in the back of their cars and trucks. The elephants learned and remembered. They tought their young, that car trunks stand for desert. Some elephants got so bold as to overturn cars and break open their trunks to get at any possible fruit. The only thing they had not learned was, which cars were loaded with them and which ones weren't, resulting in a few unneccessary wrecks and disconcerted owners.
Elephant disdain wildlife proof electric fences - anyway the oldfashioned ones. One elephant learned that he could get his trunk between electrical wires to avoid being shocked. Then he would tear out support posts, thus breaking the wires and cutting the annoying current. And - out he went - unshocked. The park had to remove him as it was feared that the other elephants would learn the same trick and they would all disappear over the horizon into the many inviting vineyards and farms.
Elephant have fun...telephone poles located inside the park all are wrapped in strings of electric wire up to about elephant trunk reach. Elephants love to tear them out and play toss the Kaber with them.
Male elephant teenagers turn rogue and kill rhinos and other animals for fun, UNLESS they have an older bull teaching them good manners. Matriarchs don't have any influence, they only mind older males. The parks sometimes have to ship youngsters into parks with older guys, so the kids grow up knowing their place.
Elephants suffer emotional trauma if moved solo, so every time an elephant needs to be relocated, two or three have to go with him. They fret when their friends are left behind, and fall into depression and become dangerous to themselves and others.
Some elephants have no trunks. In order to re introduce the trunk gene to the 'toothless ones', tusked animals are introduced to herds without trunks.
Elephants are curious. One of the jeeps became an item of interest to a dominant bull of gigantic proportions. He ambled up to the jeep in question, wich was blocked from leaving by other wildlife watching private vehicles. First he eyed the occupants by putting his eye close to the jeep's open side, then he used is trunk to reach into the jeep to explore the terrified occupants. The game warden, driving the jeep turned chalk white, despite his black skin, but could do nothing else but tell his passengers to keep their limbs close to their bodies and keep their mouths shut. No harm done to this jeep. BUT, one of the private little Hondas stupidly driving between old daddy and his harem did not get away quite that easily. The Honda returned to base with his rear window demolished by a bit of trunk making a point.
Our jeep had a 'nice lady' aboard who keept waving bananas at the 'cute little things'. First of all it is strictly forbidden to take any fruit from the ship into the country (fruit fly contamination danger) and secondly, she had no clue that she was not in Disney Land where all Jumbos are sweetiepies and fly around with feathers in their trunk.
Another gentlemen asked the driver to stop close to a pride of Lyons, so he could get out of the jeep and get a close up. Well, he had to use his best zoom setting...
Another lady kept miaoing and moaning, and whining 'here kitty kitty'...the Lyons luckily ignored her.
Addo National Park visit was very satisfying, especially as we had the good luck of seeing so many Lyons (mostly sleeping, as they hunt only at night). The breathtaking scenery made up for the fact, that most of the Elephant herd had decided to effectively hide amongst the trees when our jeep made the rounds. I glimpsed quite a few ochre coloured massive backs meandering through the bush, but only one elephant met us at the waterhole. However, he also investigated out jeep from close up, but we must have looked too boring for closer inspection.
Luckily he did not sniff out the hidden banana, which Disney World lady carried in her purse...
