Elefanten – die Dickhäuter der Savanne

Elephants – The Giants of the Savannah

In every single national park we visited during this journey, we saw, spotted, and marveled at elephants. Our guide, Elly, naturally had a wealth of knowledge to share about these imposing creatures. Having worked as a guide here in Tanzania for over 20 years, Elly knows the country like the back of his hand. Whether it’s the hidden tracks, the animal behaviors, or their favorite hiding spots—Elly knows it all.

Before us lies the lush, green landscape of Tarangire National Park, dotted with beautiful acacia trees. As far as the eye can see, there are acacia trees and herds of elephants. Strolling through the grasslands from the left and the right, elephants cross our path individually, in small family groups, and in massive herds. Looking out from the open pop-up roof of our vehicle, we watch every single elephant, gazing far into the valley, and are particularly thrilled by the many young calves.

Nudge Me, Mom!

Forgive me for using a circus analogy right off the bat, but we all know those classic scenes where elephants trudge behind one another, the follower holding the tail of the leader with its trunk. But is that just a trained trick?

Elly pointed out a mother and her tiny elephant calf strolling along. As the mother walks, the baby follows closely behind. Every single time the mother comes to a halt, the baby bumps right into her backside, gently touching her. Only then does the mother continue walking. „That is completely natural behavior,“ Elly explained. It’s a built-in reassurance system so the mother knows her calf is still right there. Every mother and baby practice this instinctively. The mother doesn’t have to constantly turn around or search for her calf; the baby knows exactly: „I must follow and nudge regularly.“ It was beautiful to see how seamlessly this works within the herd structure.

It was an even greater privilege to witness a tiny calf nursing. An elephant mother’s mammary glands are located right on her chest between her front legs—very similar to humans. To allow her small calf to nurse, the mother slightly bends one of her front legs, clearing the way. The baby first feels around with its little trunk before taking a teat into its mouth to drink.

Elly noted, „This little calf is only a few months old, and the young animals stay with their mothers until they are about four years old.“

Elephants Aren’t Picky Eaters

One of the smaller herds is standing not far from us, completely content, munching on grass. „Elephants are not picky when it comes to food,“ Elly chuckled. They rip up clumps of grass with their trunks, give it a quick slap against their chest to shake off the loose dirt, and pop it into their mouths. Even if they pull up the grass along with the roots, the process remains the same: they beat the bundle against their chest, put it in their mouth, and simply spit the nutrient-deficient roots out of the side of their mouth onto the ground.

Unfortunately, the grass here in the savannah is often quite low in nutrients. Due to the rain, it grows rapidly—frequently too fast—leaving the nutritional value rather low. Because of this, elephants require massive quantities of grass and are essentially eating around the clock.

Depending on the vegetation zone, they also highly enjoy the leaves, branches, and bark of the many acacia trees. As they wander through the landscape, they simply feast on whatever is growing around them.

Acacia Trees Defense Mechanism

Interestingly, acacia trees have developed a fascinating defense mechanism for their own survival. The moment an animal—be it an elephant or a giraffe—starts happily feasting on the fresh green leaves, the tree begins to pump a bitter, unpalatable sap into them. Now I finally understand why giraffes and elephants are constantly on the move while feeding! Staying at a single tree simply makes no sense once the leaves turn completely bitter.

However, elephants also have a workaround. If they are in the mood, they will simply knock a small acacia tree right over. Once it’s on its side, its fate is sealed, and it can no longer produce the bitter sap. When that happens, the whole elephant family gathers around the fallen tree. Often, they will polish off everything down to the bare trunk. If they do happen to leave anything behind, the antelopes are more than happy to move in and nibble on the remaining scraps.

Just Keep Fanning

As they happily devour bundle after bundle of grass, their large ears are in constant motion, fanning back and forth. „Yes, flapping those ears is incredibly important,“ Elly explained. An elephant’s ears contain a dense network of tiny blood vessels. By fanning them, they cool down the blood flowing through the ears, which then circulates back into the rest of the body, providing much-needed air conditioning.

A few days later, we observed a group of elephants at a waterhole in the southern Serengeti National Park. They were happily stomping through the water, taking a drink every now and then, and using their trunks to spray water over their flanks and backs. Elly remarked, „Just like they cool themselves by fanning their large ears, they do the same with water—or even better, with thick mud.“ I always thought they used mud purely to ward off insects, but it turns out that’s just a side benefit. First and foremost, the thick layer of mud acts as an essential cooling mechanism and a natural sunscreen for the thick-skinned giants.

Elephant vs. Car – Who is Faster?

We were sitting on the veranda of our final lodge in the Serengeti. It was late afternoon, and our game drive for the day was over. We were enjoying the expansive view over the Serengeti plains when we noticed a herd of elephants grazing peacefully not too far away.

Suddenly, one of the many Land Cruisers approached. I thought to myself that they were driving quite close, and sure enough, the mood of the elephants flipped in an instant. Two of them picked up serious speed, let out a thunderous trumpet through their trunks, and charged the vehicle. The driver luckily kept his wits about him, slammed on the gas, and sped away from the charging giants at full throttle. Only when the car was far enough away did the two elephants break off the chase and turn back.

Later that evening, we chatted with the two tourists who had been inside that very Land Cruiser. Both were well aware of just how close that call had been. The lady told us: „I closed my window very quick!“ Of course, a thin glass window wouldn’t have stopped an elephant for a second, but I think it was just a little joke to help process the adrenaline-pumping situation.

Body Language, Expressions, and Respect

The following day, Elly shared some crucial insights regarding these types of situations. „It is absolutely vital to read and understand the facial expressions and body language of an elephant. If an elephant approaches us with its tusks angled downward, everything is perfectly fine.“ The tilt of the tusks directly indicates the elephant’s current mood. If they are pointing upward, danger is imminent. When they also start shaking their head and trumpeting loudly, then it’s „good night.“ At that point, you need to get out of there fast—or better yet, ensure you never let the situation escalate that far in the first place.

Even the lions could pose a threat to a Land Cruiser if they really wanted to. A lion can easily shatter the windows and be inside the vehicle in no time.

Our guide, Elly, was always extremely cautious around all wild animals and consistently maintained a respectful distance. I find this approach deeply important, if only out of sheer respect for the animals. He exercised extra caution whenever we approached a group of young bulls. In those moments, he would either stop the car immediately or choose an alternative route, always keeping a healthy distance. Young elephant bulls love to test their strength—but gladly among themselves, and not with our safari vehicle.