Elephant

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Kruger National Park, South Africa

Fuji S2 digital, Nikon 80-400 VR

Seeing elephants in an uncontrolled environment has .been a dream since I was a child. These are amazing - and huge - animals. Kruger has a surplus population of elephants. Some old bulls have been sent to Hluhluwe, where a shortage of mature males was believed to be the reason why the elephants had become so unruly and dangerous. But that wasn't nearly enough to deal with the excess numbers.

Elephants signficantly modify their environment, primarily by uprooting trees. Too many in a confined environment, even one as big as Kruger - roughly the size of Wales - can permanently destroy a habitat. The people who run the park aren't advertising the fact to visitors, but they've resumed culling. Elephants are also smart. Since the culling began, if a helicopter anywhere in the park, the elephants quickly disappear and may no be seen for days. (But where do they go?)