Elephant Part II
We were out in our land cruiser in Amboseli National Park when we spotted an older bull elephant wandering off by himself. Amboseli is known for its elephant population, most of whom herd together each day coming to and from the hills below Mt. Kilimanjaro in Kenya. But this fellow was wandering off on his own. Dennis, our guide, told us that older bulls who can no longer compete for the females can become quite solitary. We decided to follow this one out toward the perimeter of the park. He sauntered along, picking up a bite of grass here, a bit of shrub there, looking up at us somewhat anxiously, no doubt wondering why we were there.
We stopped the car. The sun was hot that day. When the elephant saw that we had stopped, he eyed us, still munching a bit. Very slowly he made his way a little closer to our vehicle. He was in curious mode. He kicked the dirt with his foot and edged a bit closer, eyeing us closely as he did. He stood on one foot and then the other, swaying back and forth. He stayed behind one bush and then another, testing the waters carefully. The sun grew hotter. He blew some dust up over his huge torso. That dust acts like sunscreen.
