National Geographic: Reflections on Elephants Page #2
- Year:
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and swept off into the dark.
Adoption is rare in
most species,
but by daybreak the rescued
calf is part of the herd.
Now, however, he has even
greater challenges to deal with.
It's an adoption,
but by some strange twist of fate,
his new mother is the matriarch,
Who already has her
own newborn daughter.
He is immediately seen
as a competitor
for the rich-flavored milk.
Elephants rarely have
two calves at a time,
competition for milk.
Whether the matriarch
adopted the calf
or the calf found the only
lactating female in the herd,
is hard to tell.
But his rescue is no
less than remarkable.
Now he faces a new threat...
starvation by sibling rivalry.
Probing and testing like
serpents coaxed out by a
charmer's flute,
hidden delicacy.
a moment's silence,
not in reverence, But to listen
for the seed pods falling.
These pods are
harvested annually.
The trees are seldom damaged...
unlike the robust mopane trees
that they smash down to get
to the nutritious upper leaves
A little bark from certain
and minerals.
It is thought that the fiber
in the bark has medicinal sues
for elephants
as it does for humans.
Herds all over northern Botswana
are on the move now
traversing the corridors
of their memories...
Ancient trails that run
like long veins of life,
spreading out,
then converging on
The most vulnerable are the
very young
By the age of three, fewer than
half the calves survive.
Some lions specialize in
outmaneuvering the herds,
Waging a constant way
of nerves.
Sometimes older calves
become isolated
separated because their mothers
have new young to look after.
These newborn can be
snatched up easily
and must be well guarded.
fend for themselves.
As harsh as it may seem,
it is necessary.
With animals that live so long
regulate the population.
Only in paradise is death banned
from claiming the weak.
At the water hole a lone male suddenly
feels the awakenings in his body.
It is the time of his musth.
Like the new dawn, this feeling
is fresh and vital.
He can take on anything.
Musth comes to males
once a year,
But only begins halfway
through their lives.
when high levels of testosterone turn
their thoughts to conquests.
Another bull has the same
feelings of elation today
and is also ready to
confront the world.
When a breeding herd of females
glides towards the combatants,
the silence is deceptive.
This victorious bull has already
heard the low rumbles
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