Tag: waterhole

Elephants coming down to drink

Every day around 2 PM the elephants in Madikwe Game Reserve come down to the waterhole in front of Jaci’s Tree Lodge. It is a beautiful sight to see these huge animals make haste to get to the water and have a drink!

A mighty bull elephant

A huge bull elephant comes for a drink at a waterhole in Madikwe Game Reserve. Male elephants are generally solitary creatures, although friendships between groups of males have also been documented.
For one month of the year, bull elephants go into the condition of musth. During this time the bull produces 40 to 60 times more testosterone than usual. It makes him aggressive and unpredictable, and the best advice for other elephants and humans alike is to give the bull lots of space.
Musth is similar to what happens to Popeye when he downs a can op spinach. In musth, a male that is way down the ladder can challenge a dominant bull and win. When a bull elephant has broken tusks like this one, it may well be the result of a fight with another elephant!

Dawn at the waterhole

Winter is coming, they say. In Pilanesberg the mornings are becoming chilly, with mist that forms over bodies of water like this waterhole. The Egyptian geese are just waking up and arranging their feathers. It’s going to be a lovely day!

Elephant family drinking

A family of elephants drinking at a waterhole in Pilanesberg National Park. I love how green everything still is! It makes seeing animals a little bit more challenging, but the sightings that you do get are usually great because they are really close.