Sorry for having
gone quiet for several months, but I am now back and promise to be faithful with
more stories about the day to day lives of Lewa’s elephant. Needless to say, much has happened over the
past few months – some happy and some sad.
To begin with, I
recently saw Alabama and was quite concerned to find her all alone -- except
for one large bull. This most certainly
meant that she had lost her little baby girl.
Her two older daughters are weaned and, thus, technically old enough to
survive on their own, but it is unusual for young females not to remain with
their mother. This carried on for
several days, and I began to fear the worst; however, a few days later, I was
relieved to see California and Mississippi reunited with their mother. It is likely that Alabama was mating with the
bull since the loss of her calf would have brought her into estrus. Time will tell.
We also have been
witnessing unusual behavior within the Cheese and Vegetable families -- the two
families that I know best. The Cheeses,
who used to appear in my “neighborhood” on almost a daily basis, now seem to spend
the majority of their time above Lewa in the Ngare Ndare forest. In fact, they were absent for such a long
time that I became very worried. Fortunately,
I have recently seen them and all is fine.
Despite their
limited time on Lewa, there have been some remarkable events with the Cheese
family. On 6 March, Mozzarella gave
birth to a baby girl just below our house!
Much to my surprise, however, her family was not there to celebrate the new
arrival. There was none of the
trumpeting and excitement that usually accompanies the birth of a baby
elephant. In fact, the rest of the Cheeses
were nowhere to be seen, and Mozzarella remained around the house for quite
some time – all alone except for her new calf whom we have named Emmental. I suppose she stayed because she knew that she
was safe and that food and water were readily available -- but why she was not
with her family remains a mystery. As my
concern for Mozzarella and her baby grew, I made the decision to bring down additional
food especially for her. Each time we
drove down to the feeding station, she would come running to the car!
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| Mozzarella is comfortable coming right up to the car for food |
Although she was
very excited to see us, she patiently waited a few metres away while we off loaded
the hay and molasses. Once we were
safely back in the car, she did not hesitate to come right over and enjoy her
feast. This carried on for several weeks
with one or two feedings each day. She would wander a bit in the hills to graze, but
she made sure to stay close enough that she could always here the car as it
approached.
Finally, one day,
I was relieved to see Camembert walking toward the station. Although I did not see her reunite with
Mozzarella – something I would have loved to witness – Mozzarella and her baby were
not seen again for quite some time, and I assumed that they had left with
Camembert. Several weeks then went by
without any sighting of the Cheese family or Mozzarella.
Then, just the other
day, Camembert reappeared at the feeding station. Although there was nothing there for them to
eat, the family waited patiently – secure in the
assumption that food would
arrive. Not wanting to disappoint, we
quickly loaded the car with grass and molasses and hurried down to the station.
When she heard a vehicle approaching, Camembert
began to leave; but, as soon as I called to her, she turned around and came over
to the car. Per usual, she waited calmly
just far enough away that it was safe for us to get out of the car and off load
“dinner".
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| Camembert and her family wait patiently while we put out the grass and molasses |
Once we were back in the car,
Camembert brought her family right over and began to devour the grass that was
smothered in the sweet molasses that they love.
Even little Gorgonzola is now old enough to grab mouthfuls.
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| Little Gorgonzola is now old enough to enjoy the sweet molasses |
To me, this is one
of the most amazing and wonderful experiences ever. To be standing in the presence of these
incredible, massive and majestic animals (who could destroy me with one swipe
of a trunk) and know that they trust me enough to stand a few metres away and
wait while I put out the food is an experience that defies description.
However, my
delight was cut short when I realized that Mozzarella was not with the
family. The very next day, however, much
to my surprise and relief, Mozzarella did reappear -- with the Vegetable
family! What she is thinking I do not
know, but she has remained with them since that day. In addition, Celery and the two boys recently have
been traveling with the Cheeses.
This is not
entirely new behavior. These two
families have spent a great deal of time together over the years, particularly when
Garbanza, the deceased matriarch of the Vegetable family (who bore a striking
resemblance to Camembert), was still alive.
And, in fact, they still come together from time to time. Carrot also goes back and forth between
families. I suspect that these two
families are related which would help to explain this behavior. To prove this assumption, I collected DNA samples
on both Camembert and Garbanza years ago and hope to be able to get it analyzed
one day soon. I will let you know the
outcome.
Next time, more
updates on life with Lewa’s amazing and fascinating elephant.
