The 2025 Botswana Journals, Ch. 27: Elephants, Hannibal, and a Bunch of Birds

NOTE.  Once again, I selected too many photos from about 2000 I shot on this day to include in one chapter, so they will be split into two chapters.  

On Feb. 4, I posted about finding a missing camera memory card that contained many once-in-a-lifetime photos.   I was heartsick about losing it.   Then, almost miraculously, while looking for other memory cards, I spotted it hiding in a little plastic container on my computer desk.   Many of the photos you see in this chapter and the upcoming chapters will include those precious photos.

(Remember, click on one photo to bring up a film strip.   Then, by clicking and scrolling, you can view the photos full screen, which I recommend.)

Now for today's (Nov. 9) part one of our afternoon game drive on the way to the Lala Limpopo overnight hide--and I have a flight of fancy.

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        Minutes out of Tuli Lodge, on the afternoon of November 9th,  we are treated to a dramatic reenactment of elephants crossing the Alps. 

        The stage is set.

 

        The talent is on their marks.

 

        And, ACTION!

 

        Off they go, those massive gray bodies straining for each elephant-sized foothold up the precipitous crags.   Step by step, they come closer to their objectives.     The vaunted Roman armies below on the other side will be caught entirely by surprise.

An elephant-sized footprint.   This reminds me of a photo of me holding a plaster cast of a polar bear's footprint.   The cast almost covers my upper torso.

        Oh, yeah, they had that Hannibal guy with them, too.    Not Lecter.   You know the one--the Carthaginian who outfoxed Rome.

        This reenactment, though, differs greatly from that 218 BC drama.   Hannibal is thought to have used North African elephants, and they are thought to be cousins of today’s African savannah/bush elephants as both are in the  Loxodontga genus.

        There is a substantial size difference, also.  Hannibal's elephants were 8ft at the shoulders.  The savannah/bush elephant males here can be 9-13 ft. at the shoulders.

        North African elephants are now extinct.   Hannibal should have left them alone.

        The African Savanah/bush elephants are the largest land mammals on earth, larger and heavier than Asian elephants (6 -12 ft tall) and African forest elephants (6-7 feet tall).

        The also-ran is the Bornea pygmy elephant, a smaller subspecies of the Asian elephant, is about three feet shorter than the Asian.

Note the light-colored established trails going up the hills.  This isn't their first time here.   Elephants tend to walk single file and usually on the same, familiar track.

        The elephants in today’s reenactment are the locals.   Perhaps not trained for the stage, nor expecting to do battle with the Roman Army once they summit and descend.

        In fact, they are participating in the time-honored idiom of “The grass is always greener.

 

        Yes, up there in the lofty heights, with no thoughts whatsoever of historical events, the elephants are after the lush green grass that grows among the red sandstone rocks.

 

       We leave the elephants to their greener grass, and drive along, slowly making our way to the night hide, and find a few more elephants.

        There's a hyena, a very cooperative spotted hyena, lying under a bush.   You never know how hyenas will react, but this one lay there quite a while while we took photos.

Then it wandered away when it was tired of the paparazzi.

      

          It turns out to be a great day for birds!    A lilac-breasted roller is perched amid some branches.   

        As we watch, it flies to the ground.   It isn't hunting, though, and we are treated to the bird taking a dust bath.   That is done to condition the feathers by eliminating excess oils and ridding them of any feather mites and parasites.

        I was totally thrilled with this behavior sighting.   When I grow up, I want to study animal behavior.

        On second thought, I think I'm already doing that.

First, a security check.   This is a wise thing to do as there could be sneaky predators around, especially shrikes.

It makes another security check to all quadrants.   Look at the sand falling!

        

We leave the roller to its spa treatment and find the colorful bee-eaters.

White-fronted bee-eater.

LIFER,  LIFER.   My first Buffalo weaver.

The African darter, also called a snake bird because of its long neck.   Note the duck-like webbed feet--it's an aquatic hunter.     Darters are similar to the anhingas found in the US.

        Ah, now for a great sighting of a gray hornbill!   Not a lifer for me, but this time  I get decent photos.

All of that is the hornbill's bill, including the casque on top.

Open bill.

It's little tongue sticking out.

Female red-crested korhann, a member of the bustard family that also includes my favorite--the kori bustard.

 

This warthog, photographed in late afternoon, didn't run away as these animals usually do, but it did amble away, refusing to look at the camera.

An ostrich strolling by.

Meve's starling, also known as a long-tailed starling.   I had never seen them before so they are LIFERs for me.   This one's posture messed up my photo composition but I thought the background color complemented the photo, so here it is.

        And then we hear an alarm call!   Out here, those calls should never be ignored, so our driver hurries to find the source.

        That story will be in the next chapter.