Dzanga Forest Elephants

Category: Elephants | Date: Jan 23 2008 | By: admin

With the weather at its absolute driest the number of elephants is increasing in the clearing and now we are seeing an average of more than 130 individuals per day. These numbers are unprecedented and I believe the main influence on the elevated numbers at Dzanga may be a result of the increase in commercial logging to the east in the Republic of Congo. Until a few years ago there was no logging in that area and elephants and other wildlife were unperturbed. Now there is logging which has led to the creation of roads and an influx of people which is putting poaching pressure on the wildlife. With this increased pressure the elephants are quick to know where they are safe and out of harm’s way.

The bulls have established two favorite holes which means there is a lot of jockeying for the best spots. When a new bull enters it is interesting how he will fit into the male constellation, will he displace someone in the hole or stand and wait patiently by the edge ?I call this situation “bull” school because there is a lot of learning taking place by the younger bulls who stand and wait. Curiously enough there are a few sub-adult females who try to get into the holes with the bulls for minerals. The bulls at times are baffled by this behavior and gently nudge the challengers to encourage their departure. Despite their size the bulls are gentle and rarely are truly aggressive towards the other elephants in the vicinity of the hole. They will chase others away and then resume their position in the hole.

Besides the competition over mineral sites, the elephants also are enjoying mud bathing at several sites along the clearing edges. This results in mostly yellow elephant who coat themselves entirely in mud. Less frequently there are red elephants who appear coming from an area in the south where there is a pool of red mud.

Two days ago I observed an interesting sight in front of the observation platform. An adult female, Leonarda, who only comes to the bai once every few years, greeted with a young adult male, Hiram. After they vocalized they kept close to each other, Hiram in a small hole digging for minerals and Leonarda stood next to him. Then Leonarda’s three daughters of various ages approached Hiram and they trunked him to which he did not protest. The rest of the afternoon this group kept close company leading me to believe that Hiram is related to this group. It is rare to see adult males vocalize in response to family groups and in most cases it is because of a family relationship. We see this periodically in groups where we have already determined the family relationships.