Elephant Pictures - Pg 2

If you visit the Tuli area on safari, you're more than likely to see many small "maternity" herds of elephants, allowing you to get pictures of elephant mothers with their babies.

However, elephants are very protective of their young and don't like you getting too close. It's advisable to balance the urge to capture a winning shot with respect for their space.

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Breeding Herd Although relaxed elephants will usually simply ignore a safari vehicle, it's not wise to push your luck with a breeding herd. This means a good telephoto lens is essential for capturing family groups of mothers with babies. A medium zoom lens in the 70-200mm range is usually adequate for this. Photographing Charging Elephants National Geographic photographer Nick Nichols says that photographing elephants "is probably the most fun thing you can do as a wildlife photographer". He writes: "Some of my best pictures are of charging elephants. Elephants are hunted heavily where I work, so they're afraid of humans, and if you get the right elephant, it'll charge. "But I think it's almost always a bluff charge .... an elephant just wants us to go away, so she trumpets and charges a little bit, which makes for a dramatic moment. Of course, there's going to be the charge that's real, and I'm not sure I can read that. I usually run away, which you're not supposed to do." If you'd like to find out more about African elephants, see Elephant Information, Elephant Biofile, and Elephant Communication. Photo Thumbnail Captions: Row 1: 1.Elephant family, Lower Zambezi NP, Zambia 2.Elephant eating branch, Lower Zambezi NP, Zambia 3.Elephant family in defensive formation, Botswana Row 2: 1.Tuskless elephant, Kruger Park, South Africa 2.Mother elephant with youngster, Tuli Block, Botswana 3.Lone elephant with no tusks, Kruger Park, South Africa Row 3: 1.Elephants crossing river, Lower Zambezi NP, Zambia 2.Elephants wading, Chobe River, Botswana 3.Elephant bull, Kruger National Park, South Africa Row 4: 1.Elephant group from the air, Moremi, Botswana 2.Elephant front-on with ears flapping 3.Elephant walking, side view, Lower Zambezi NP, Zambia Row 5: 1.Elephant on banks of river, Lower Zambezi, Zambia 2.Elephant wading, Lower Zambezi NP, Zambia 3.Elephant family, Lower Zambezi NP, Zambia Row 6: 1.Elephant mothers with calves, Botswana 2.Elephant female herd, Tuli Block, Botswana 3.Elephant mother and calf, Tuli Block, Botswana Row 7: 1.Elephant and reflection, Tuli Block, Botswana 2.Elephant reaching for fruit, Zambia 3.Elephant on banks of Zambezi River, Zambia See also Elephant Pictures Pg 3 Elephant Photos Bonus Page Or return to Wildlife Galleries

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