July 28th 2006 – – –

It’s the height of the dry season, and this year the reservoir is full of elephants.  Last year, they didn’t come down at all – on my very last day in August, I saw just one group crossing it in a hurry.  This year, around every corner there is a large group of elephants.  There must have been several hundred animals altogether, including calves.It’s almost like what I’ve read of African elephants – these large aggregations are very distinctly separated.  The individuals in them don’t seem to be there by chance.  Instead, there are certain elephants who seem to be found ‘together’ a lot of the time, though not always.  Were they families?  Extended families?  Who knew.

Blanche was one of the ‘B’s.  The others were Bianca – she seemed to be the oldest, and if so maybe she qualified as a matriarch – Bitsy, Bashi, Baretail, Bali (who had a crooked tail), and Batik along with a gaggle of calves.  Blanche was so-named because most of her tail hairs were white.  She must have already been pregnant when the study began.  We saw Bitsy nearly always with Bianca, but Blanche and Bashi were sometimes off on their own.

We had spent most of the afternoon further afield, surrounded by an enormous group.  They grazed close to the water; some individuals came down to drink as many as six times in as many hours.   Now the sun is setting and it’s time to leave.

At the very last bend, just on the edge of where the short grass of the reservoir basin ended, there’s a group of up to fifty elephants.  We know nearly all the adults.  But two are standing off to a side, over what looks like a rock.  They’re Blanche and Baretail.  Through binoculars we see that this rock appears pale pink…In fact, Blanche has some wet marks behind her hind legs.  It’s a newborn!

1752h – Gets up

1753h – Tries to nurse.

1754h – Stands between Blanche (left) and Baretail (right)

1753h – Nursing while he tries to walk

June 11 2009 – Nearly 3 years old

August 22 2010 – Blanche’s calf at just over 4 years old

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