Elephant Gives Birth at Tintswalo

A couple of weeks ago we were privileged to witness a sighting that some will know as a 'once in a life time sighting’, where a baby elephant bull stumbled into life!We found the breeding herd of elephant late in the afternoon an hour before sunset. On approach we noticed some strange behaviour.All the members of the family were milling around and stood facing away as a measure of security, from something that was hidden in the middle of the herd. It was a helpless newborn encircled by his family! Luckily for us, this was a breeding herd that has been seen moving through the Manyeleti Game Reserve on a regular basis and is completely relaxed with the presence of vehicles!At this stage, a newborn calf is extremely vulnerable and in the short video, you will notice how the members of the herd, including the mother, will cover the little one with dust in an attempt to conceal the scent from any predators that could be lurking close by! By use of the trunk and front feet, the mother helped the youngster to his feet. After a couple of failed attempts, he eventually stood on his own!The first few days after a calf is born, a breeding herd of elephant will normally remain in relative close vicinity of the place of birth, if vital resources like water and food is readily available. Because of this, we were able to catch up with the herd three days later! The little bull elephant still with the stains of birth ,but stronger, and able to keep up with his family! Im still amazed by the fact that this tiny boy will develop into a gigantic, six ton elephant that would hopefully become one of the Kruger’s magnificent tuskers!