The Big Guy

To get up close with the biggest elephant bull in the Reserve is always a humbling affair… Co-owners Alison and Nigel share their story of running in to this – as it turned out – gentle giant: “We arrived at a waterhole in Limpopo-Lipadi just as the breeding herd of elephants made their way there. A breeding herd is made up of adult females, their adult daughters, and any dependent youngsters. Males leave the herd when they are approximately 12 years old and usually only return for breeding purposes, so you don’t always find large males with the herd. On this day however, we realized that the biggest bull elephant on the reserve was following behind the herd, approaching the water. He was absolutely huge and dwarfed even the biggest adult females in the herd. The photos show how tall he is, but also how bulky and wide his head is, and how thick his remaining tusk is (he has broken the other one). It is impossible not to be impressed by this bull, and luckily for us he was in a magnanimous mood, ignoring us as he quenched his thirst.”

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