As we drove on we encountered many Impala, which is a small antelope. The guides call them the McDonald's of the bush, because all of the big cats prey on them. They also come with a distinctive arch shaped marking on their rumps too. We saw many Kudu antelope, a larger antelope easily identified by the vertical camouflage stripes on their sides and their distinctive spiral horns. Both the Impala and Kudu are raised on farms for their meat and they can be found on the menu of many fine South African restaurants. They are quite tasty.

       Bull Elephant                                              Elephant Herd

Later that day, on our afternoon safari, we encountered a lone bull elephant. The guide drove off the road and very close to the bull. He was grazing on tree leaves and ignored us. Then the huge bull walked past us so close that the people in the back of the Land Rover could have reached out and touched him. We all held our breath as he sauntered by. He could have tossed the vehicle over and trampled it in a heart beat. Two Italians, who were sitting in the back row, had complained earlier about not being close enough to the animals. After the encounter with the bull we asked if that was close enough. They allowed as how it certainly was.  

        Juvenile threatening the intruders        Kudu Antelope

Our next encounter was a whole herd of about twelve elephants. Again the guide pulled right up to the herd. A large female was busy trying to push a sizable tree down without success. She gave up after several tries. Then a young male, we'd call him a teenager, tried his luck at pushing the tree down. He gave up too after only a few tries. Next the teenager looked at us and decided we were a threat. He may not have been as familiar with the vehicles as the older elephants. He flapped his ears at us, as elephants do when they feel threatened. It's their way of warning other animals or people to stand their distance. Then he made a short charge of about twenty feet, stopping fifty feet away. The  old  female gave a snort and the young bull aborted his charge. The females rule the herd and they keep the young males under control. When the males reach breeding age they are kicked out of the herd. They have to fight for the right to breed and have their own herd.

(Read more in "More Encounters" published